Fusion
by A Dueling Heart
Summary: When the world goes to shit, 25 year old Joey Wheeler propels to the past to prevent doom. Having been sent back too far he decides to have fun. If that involves throwing himself at his future husband, well, why not?
1. Be Careful What You Wish For

I'm back! Here's the new Fusion! The old one will be taken down after I've gotten a few chapters up!

**Story/ Chapter Summary:**

**When the world goes to shit, 25 year old Joey Wheeler propels to the past to prevent**

**doom. Having been sent back too far he decides to have fun. If that involves throwing**

**himself at his future husband, well, why not?**

**What Joey hadn't counted on was that his preventing his world's apocalypse would open the door to something far worse.**

**(Or, the one where Joey loves messing with people's sanity, Duel Monsters are real, and Seto Kaiba is too young for marriage)**

**Be Careful What You Wish For-**

**Domino City, Japan **

**Year 2013**

Transformation took little effort now.

With a practiced ease, ink-black hair receded to give way to blonde tuffs. Red orbs simmered to amber, the markings on his face and body vanished. It was a vast change to be sure. He looked normal now.

Once upon a time he felt normal too.

A roar sounded from somewhere near. The blonde man smiled at the sound. His familiar always made a show of protest whenever he cut off their bond. Not that it was ever truly cut off, though it was severely muted.

He reached out to give the black-scaled head a rub. "It'll be a long while buddy, but not forever. I promise."

A purr sounded and warmth touched him from where it flared out of his familiar's nostrils.

He laughed. "You big lug."

The blond stared at the spot where his familiar dematerialized from view for a few moments. With a hard swallow he pushed down the knot that threatened to form in his throat, a maneuver he'd long since become familiar with.

Finally, he turned to his other companion.

Full-blown white eyes faced him.

Although he cut down on his predilection for outbursts, he couldn't quite stop himself from flinching then.

His companion smiled, smugly. "I still scare you."

A blond brow twitched. That wasn't a question. "Not my fault you got them freaky eyes."

"I take offense to that."

"But it's true!"

"I take offense to that too."

"Oh Ra," the blond groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead and rubbing it down his face. It stopped at his chin as his eyes turned up. "The sky will be blue again."

"Mmm?"

"It's been more than a year since the sky's been blue," he explained. Amber eyes narrowed at the ash and gray that lit the view above them. "It'll be… weird, I guess."

His companion eyed him carefully. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

A sigh. "There's no other option."

"You'll be starting over."

"It'll be worth it."

"Not just with the events, but with the people too."

"You think I don't know that!?" the blond snapped, making a cutting gesture through the air with his hand. "Those people are no longer here!"

Silence.

"Look," he huffed after a tense minute passed. "We've been over this. I'm going back and making things right."

"We won the war."

"But the cost-" the blond paused, again swallowed with difficulty. "The cost was much too high."

His companion waited a moment. "Your friends won't be the same. The realization _will_ jar you."

He scoffed, a trait picked up. "We've been through a lot, since before this chaos even began."

"But you never fought like this, not then. The bonds forged here will be lost."

The blond didn't respond.

"Your husband-"

"Enough!" amber flashed red, momentarily. His arms crossed. "Just... enough."

"Very well," the Ethereal figure relented. It moved to stand in front of him, bringing back attention to the all-white gaze.

Fuck if those eyes weren't creepy.

"So, how does this start? What do I have to-"

"In solving one catastrophe you open up another with far more reaching consequences. Time will come when you will wonder if this was not the better alternative."

"Wait, what?" the blond blinked, hands falling open to his sides.

"Do **not** give in to such wonder," the figure urged him.

"Hold on a sec! Tell me what that's-"

_Pain. _

The damn thing moved too fast for him to counter. The blond male being who he was, that was no small matter.

Though, he did manage to mutter a curse before the blackness took over his consciousness.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Domino City, Japan**

**Nearing the end of Freshman Year**

**March 2004**

The sound of glass breaking woke him.

Not that it took much to rouse him out of sleep anymore in all honesty. He had a few moments of shock regardless when his eyes first popped open; immediately searching his surroundings, assessing.

_'__Where am I?'_

Wait-

He knew this place. So much time spent away couldn't erase the memories of these four walls.

'_Shit.' _

He'd been warned he could be sent back further than he like, but this- this was _years _before the war would begin if he was correct about the time period.

His eyes landed on the school uniform lying in a heap just as he heard more glass breaking.

With more fluid grace than he possessed at this age before, he got up and quickly changed. He was out the window in record time, easily slipping the screen back into place behind him. He paused as he looked back in through the window, caught in a memory the sight of his old bedroom brought up.

Previously, the sound of his father shattering beer bottles would have sent him tripping across the room, dressing haphazardly, throwing the window open, tearing the already frayed screen some more as he flung his body through it, and making his way down the fire escape so fast he was lucky he never plunged down headfirst.

But, that was then and this is now; which is the same_ then _so to speak but what will become different future.

_'__It's called establishing an alternate reality,'_ his husband's voice echoed in his head, the teasing tilt to baritone voice something he'd come to love with time.

The blond choked on air, hands coming to grip the railing of the fire-escape with white-knuckled fists.

He could still hear him at times. Picture the sway of brown hair as his husband shook his head fondly, the bright light within blue eyes that failed to veil amusement.

The memories still managed to hurt, every time.

_'__Fuck.'_ A shuddered breath was expelled. Another. _'Fuck.'_

**CRASH.**

Another bottle broken.

But, the haze he got caught up in was broken too.

He threw his legs over the railing and maneuvered down the side of the fire escape. Probably not the best way to test if his strength and agility was up to par, but there would always be a recklessness to him.

He was happy to find that he only really lacked in sheer strength. It was expected as he no longer possessed the musculature he built over years of fighting. His agility was relatively the same, though it could always be better. The only reason it was decent now was from his years of running with a gang. Literally having to run some of the time wasn't always enough to keep the cops from catching you. Being able to maneuver and squeeze through obstacles often made all the difference between a narrow snag.

Although he'd never been a weakling, this time around he'll build himself up sooner. If he'd just been a bit faster, just a little bit stronger last time around he could have prevented some of the deaths-

Angst _rolled_ his belly. He stopped his brisk pace, hands clenching at his sides.

_'__Stop it.'_

He hadn't meant to think of it like that, something so horrible looked on so casually. He didn't want to focus on it either. That future no longer existed. That's what he was here for, to make sure it never came to be.

His friends were here. _Alive. _

The world wasn't yet lost.

His husband-

He sucked in a breath, _tight_, through his teeth.

He wasn't 25 anymore. He wasn't married anymore. For all intents and purposes he was (at least he thought he was) 16 years old again.

_Focus. _

He resumed his walk. As soon as he got to school he'd be able to determine his age for sure.

Just don't _think._

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Good morning Joey."

The blond had frozen when he entered the room and spotted the tri-colored head. His heart pounded when said-head swiveled around and lilac eyes found him. Yugi greeted him with a happy smile. A smile he'd known to grow rare- up until it was just _gone_.

His lips stretched of their own volition.

"Mornin' Yug," he replied rather affectionately.

His friend's eyes lit up at that and Joey's smile stretched just the bit wider for it.

He drank in the sight. Yugi, young and alive.

And _happy_.

"What? Are you just going to ignore us?"

Joey covered a shuddered breath with nervous laughter.

"Mornin' Tris. Mornin' Tea. Mornin' Ryou."

"That's more like it man," Tristan bumped shoulders with him. "So good morning to you too bud."

"Yes, good morning," Ryou returned, lips thin but eyes soft.

"Wonderful actually," Tea admonished as she took to staring at Joey. "You seem distracted."

Clever Tea. She'd always been the most perceptive of them, though she lacked in pinning down just what was up.

He tried so hard to keep from gathering them all up in his arms. His fingers itched at the tips.

"Oh ya know, just being here at school and all," he answered casually with a shrug. _'Dammit.'_ His own smile began to hurt. But, he couldn't retract it. He was _here_, with his friends. How could he not be happy? His heart could pop from all the happy that swelled it.

"Hey Joey, wanna duel before class starts?"

**Pop! **

Yeah, there went his heart.

As Joey shuffled his cards he ruminated on whether or not he should outplay Yugi. It would be so easy to beat the _'King of Games'_ as he was right then.

The door slid open and he looked over out of habit, unable to keep himself from keeping track of the people who entered and left the room. The appearance of this particular person stilled him.

_His husband._

He could see it in the teenager, the man he'd come to love. The comfort he found in the tall stature leading to a habit of pressing kisses to the pale curve of his jaw. Smells of coffee he'd never taken a taste to, but developed a habit of brewing in the mornings for his surprisingly lethargic lover. The touch of brunette locks on his cheek when he awoke, almost as often as he rose to find himself cradled against smooth pecs.

(Oh, how he teased his love about his tidy appearance. And was teased in return for his _caveman hygiene_)

Time stretched before him to show the love, the understanding, the acceptance he always so desperately craved all wrapped up in this one person. Someone he so gloriously had...

Joey groaned and slapped a hand over his eyes to disguise how he fought back tears. There was so much love that wanted to burst from his skin and pour out of his mouth, but remained stuck within.

It _had_ to remain within.

The tall brunette paid no one (least of all him) any mind as he took his seat and pulled out a book.

So much would come to pass before they even got to the point of admitting they tolerated one another. In the grips of almost tearing each other apart, they unearthed love out of hopelessness.

Could he survive having to go through all their heart-rending trials again?

Joey had yet to look away from the person who had yet to spare him even a single glance.

Reality sunk in.

_'__Four years,'_ he mused.

He had four years before the world went to hell.

Four years of planning and preparing. Of choosing what to change and what to keep the same. Of preventing as much bad as he could.

Joey brushed off his friend's concerns, mumbling something about being hungry, and grinned as Yugi began the duel.

The fact was, he had **too much** time.

Why not have a little fun along the way?

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"That's incredible man! You won again!" Tristan gaped at him, eyes wide.

"You've picked up the game remarkably fast," Tea mentioned.

Yugi smiled brightly at him. "You're really awesome at this Joey."

"You guys are too much, really," the blond replied cheekily.

"I'd love to duel with you sometime Joey."

He looked over at their fair-haired friend, only just keeping from raising a brow. _'That's different. Ryou's outspoken when the mood strikes but he never liked to reach out for fear of Bakura…' _A grin formed his lips nonetheless,"Sure thing Ryou." _'I'll do better by you this time too,'_ he mentally promised.

"Tea's right though," Tristan relented, slapping a hand down on Joey's shoulder. "How did you get so good so fast?"

"There's someone I want to challenge."

Yugi blinked. "Who do you want to challenge Joey?" the short teen asked.

Joey lifted his hand and pointed with a wicked grin. "Him."

His friends and their classmates around them all turned to look.

"Seto Kaiba!"

The outburst caused said brunette to look over only to find Joey pointing right at him.

"Yup," the blonde confirmed, catching the blue gaze. "That's who I want to duel." His hand retracted and his grin melted into a peculiar smile. "You ever notice how good-looking he is? Because he really, really is."

Maybe that was too far off tangent. Everyone stared at him with a mix of confusion and incredulity, especially his friends.

"What?" he teased, enjoying this far more than he expected he would. "He is! Those lips of his makes me wanna kiss him senseless, ya know? Hey Kaiba, have you ever modeled before?"

Seto wasn't as hard-hearted as he came off as (and how many years it took for him to learn that was embarrassing). Seto's eyes had widened initially at his words, though not long enough for anyone but Joey to notice as they quickly narrowed upon him.

The blond recognized how his once-love scrutinized him, trying to assess where he was coming from. It made his heart pound.

He tried not to feel hurt when Seto merely scoffed at whatever he thought he found and turned back to his book.

"Are you serious?! Is that why you want to duel him? Because you think he's… good-looking?"

The look on Tristan's face could have curdled milk. Joey almost laughed out-loud.

And yet, he could tell by the subtle shift of the tall brunette's chin that Seto too waited for his reply.

"Well, handsomeness aside," he drummed his fingers on the desk. "He is the Inter-Continental State Champ. He's one of the best duelists out there."

"I didn't know you followed Dueling at that level," Yugi remarked with slight awe.

The blond smiled. "I don't."

"What do you mean you don't?" Tea inquired, eyebrows drawn together.

Joey's smile only split wider. "There's another reason though," he continued. "Something I want from him should I win."

"Joey!" Tea remarked, though not without a blush and a hand to her mouth.

"Wow Tea." This time he did laugh, unable to contain it. "That's dirty."

Tea blushed harder.

Ryou looked away from them, but Joey caught the smile he wore.

"What is it then?" Tristan asked, giving him a poke.

He grinned impossible wide. "Why, to win his hand in marriage o' course."

The blond didn't pay attention to the uproar he caused. Instead, he studied the blue orbs that snapped up to catch him in their depths.

They matched the shade of the evening sky.

He really had missed the sky.

**End Notes:**

**Let's break it down shall we? **

**Yugioh Duel Monsters aired on Kid's WB in the USA from 2001-2006**

**Because of that I've set the gang's graduation date for 2006. Joey will be 18 then, thus making him 25 in 2013.**

**The school system will be under the Japanese school system (the following is a generic sample of dates):**

**First Semester- April 7 to July 20**

**Second Semester- September 1 to December 25**

**Third Semester- January 8 to March 25**

**(This fic starts March of 2004, so the gang is just about to finish their Freshman year of high school, during which Season 0 of YGO takes place, and Duelist Kingdom occurs during the break before their Sophomore/Junior year)**

**The gang's ages (unless stated otherwise):**

**Freshman year- 15/16 yrs old **

**Sophomore/Junior year- 16/17 yrs old **

**Senior year- 17/18 years old**

**I have no idea when the following events take place, but these are my best guesses and what will be used for this fic:**

**Duelist Kingdom occurs after their Freshman year (between March and April of 2004).**

**Battle City occurs Winter Break of Sophomore/Junior year (December 2004 to January 2005) (This means there will be snow as it snows in Japan during Winter).**

**Yami departs during the break after their first semester of Senior year (during which the Millennium World Arc takes place) (between July and September of 2006).**

**And Yami returns 2 years later (2008).**

**War begins in 2008 and ends in 2013 in the Original Timeline (which Joey is now back to prevent).**

**Feel free to comment if any of the above confuses you or if there are any contradictions you'd like to point out! **

**Or if you just like/hate the story. I always appreciate feedback!**


	2. Duelist Kingdom Gets Rocked

**Chapter Summary:**

**Newcomers join the gang. Joey's friends realize he's crazy. Kaiba is disturbed by Mokuba's siding with Joey. Pegasus is a bastard and Ryou causes a natural disaster.**

**Chapter 2 - Duelist Kingdom Gets Rocked**

**Duelist Kingdom, Illusion Island**

**School Break after Freshman Year**

**March-April, 2004**

Joey wondered if he was doing good so far. Already he made a few changes.

His declaration to marry Seto Kaiba garnered a lot more attention than he intended. Because of such, Yugi never got around to mention his grandfather's rare card and Seto never kidnapped Yugi's grandfather in order to force Yugi into a duel over it.

(Although, he did chuckle to remember how often he made fun of Seto for that, '_you have a kidnapping fetish, admit it!'_).

He realized his mistake there at once, but luckily Pegasus still found out about Yugi. It certainly clued Joey in that the man was more involved with the Millennium Items than they once believed. The duel between the two Millennium Item holders was only pretext. As before, the bastard stole Yugi's grandfather's soul and thus began their journey.

Which wasn't to say he didn't feel guilty about the ordeal. He hadn't been able to figure out a way to get invited to Pegasus' tournament without having Yugi's grandfather's soul taken hostage. He arrived in the past only mere days before it occurred. There hadn't been enough time to come up with something else.

It wasn't worth to dwell on anymore as they all currently headed to Duelist Kingdom via boat.

Joey leaned back against the ship's railing and pondered how Yugi keeping Exodia this time would play out as he watched the young boy with sea-foam green hair slither away from them.

Moments ago Weevil attempted to throw the cards Yugi naively allowed the boy to look at overboard.

Moments ago the blond _accidentally_ knocked the bug-boy down causing the cards to spill onto the deck floor.

Quickly, he picked them up before anyone else got so much as a glance at what they were and handed them back to Yugi with the advice to keep them guarded. None of his other friends missed what Weevil tried to do and their matching glares sent the boy scurrying.

So, meeting Weevil was as unpleasant as the first time around, saved cards notwithstanding.

Meeting Mai, however, was a crazy treat.

"Woah! She is hot!"

A smile turned his lips the moment Joey heard Tristan say that, lifting his head to catch sight of the female blonde in her signature purple leather.

_'__Mai. Beautiful Mai.'_

"You can stop drooling now," Tea remarked, crossing her arms.

Tristan didn't appear to have heard her. "Look at her! She's-"

"Pretty lady! Hey pretty lady!"

Mai looked over, quirked a brow at the way Joey waved at her as he jumped up and down, but decided to saunter over anyways.

"Something biting you honey?" she coyly asked, eyes roving over them all but settling on him.

"Name's Joey Wheeler." He smiled bright, not having to force it so. "I can't wait to duel ya."

He stuck his hand out and she shook it with a smile of her own on her heart-shaped face, though her smile was a tad too large, he knew, to be entirely genuine. "Now, why would you want to-"

"You're Mai Valentine," he cut in; quick, enthusiastic, and firm. He drank in the sight of her, unable to stop, and fervently hoped it didn't show as much as he felt it did or that he could be passed off as a fanboy. "You're an amazing Duelist. Anyone with a brain can tell you'll be one of the greats."

Joey dutifully ignored Tristan's comment of, "Since when did Joey have a brain?" Although, his smile quirked when he heard Tea elbow him, Yugi and Ryou laughing softly in the background.

Mai, for her part, looked floored for a few moments before she regained her composure. Her lavender eyes held a spark they previously hadn't as she looked him over once more. "Oh sweetheart, I won't be able to go easy on you now."

Joey knew for a fact she never would have regardless. But, how should he begin with breaking through this act of hers?

It's not that loving Seto cemented him as gay. He truly believed Mai and himself would have eventually gotten around to dating once, age difference be damned. The two blondes simply never went there, chose instead to mess around with other people until they both found what they needed.

After Atem left, after their lives didn't revolve around chaos and magic- Joey had taken time to explore himself as a person. High school ended, his father kicked him out, and he was left trying to figure life out, which inevitably lead to figuring himself out. He took to questioning why he felt for some men the way he felt about some women. It's not that he didn't_ know_, not really, but that he was scared to admit it to himself. Before the war took over their lives, sexuality was as big a deal as it was hushed and not talked about.

But, Joey was forever reckless. Instead of thinking too much on it, he acted. He experimented. He acknowledged that he could be attracted to both sexes.

Then Atem came back, war began, and he had little time for relationships until Seto Kaiba became such an ingrained part of his life.

So, maybe it was better Mai and himself hadn't dated. If they had, it would have been good he was sure. But with his husband he had had great and he wouldn't trade that for anything.

His lips quirked into a teasing fashion as he said, "You're beautiful Mai, you really are, but your flirting won't work on me. Not only am I taken, but I also feel the need to warn ya that my future husband is the jealous type."

"What the heck man?!" Tristan's eyes widened. "I thought that whole thing about marrying Seto Kaiba was just to mess with everyone!"

"You're marrying Seto Kaiba?!" Mai blurted out, causing several heads to swivel in their direction. "Who the heck are you?"

"You're not marrying Seto Kaiba," Tea laid down.

"I totally am," Joey insisted. "He's just a bit resistant."

"He was horrified."

"He doesn't like surprises."

"I don't think he's ever made a face like that before."

"Back me up guys," Joey whined, throwing arms around Yugi and Ryou.

Yugi smiled hesitantly, index fingers coming up to push at each other. "Um, he might just need a little convincing?"

"You should try courting him Joey," Ryou advised. "It's the proper way to do it. You tend to come off a bit strong."

"Really? Do I?"

Ryou nodded. "You should try flowers or writing a note. Maybe make him something to eat?" He checked off each option on his fingers.

Tea's eye twitched. "Is he- is he actually taking that advice?"

"He's writing it down," Tristan pointed out. "Guys, he's _actually _writing that down."

"I believe this is where I take my leave," Mai drawled, flipping her hair over her shoulder as she walked away. She stopped a few yards away and tossed a wink. "Maybe I'll see you all later."

"It's a date!" Joey cried out with a happy grin, looking up from his notepad and waving with his pen. He turned back to find Yugi, Tristan, and Tea starring at him.

"What?" he questioned looking to Ryou, the laughter that threatened to let itself out all caught in his amber gaze.

The fair-haired teen only shrugged, though his light smirk claimed he knew Joey was pushing on purpose.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Dueling with cards was almost boring now.

He was far used to a different type of Dueling, had been for a long time. He knew he was much better suited for that type of battle, but that was years to come.

Duelist Kingdom started out much the same as it had before. Though the details were lost to him, he rejoiced in the big moments as they came along.

Weevil wasted no time in trying to lure Yugi into a trap. Joey wasted no time in cheering his buddy to a sound victory. The only minor bump was the bug-boy having convinced Yugi that using Exodia was unfair and so the short teen hadn't.

"I won't become a better Duelist if I use Exodia to win all of my battles," Yugi had reasoned. "I'm better off not using it except maybe against Pegasus."

Joey respected that, although he did take obscene pleasure in secretly teaching Weevil that unsavory tactics got no one anywhere in the end, not that anyone could trace the Bee's Nest Incident back to him.

At least he didn't have to worry about how Yugi potentially using Exodia would affect his games. That was the only reason he held back from doing more with Weevil. The kid had had chances given to him… but he still grew up to be a rather terrible guy.

He defeated Rex Raptor. It was child's play. He hadn't expected to be dueling the kid first, but he wasn't going to complain about the slight deviation. To be honest, he had a lot of fun horrifying the Dino-Duelist with his insistence that Rex would _probably_ grow up to be quite good-looking and irritating him whenever he swiped his red beanie to show off his _'great head of hair.'_

Although he knew he should feel a little guilty, his heart positively sung when he was presented with Red-Eyes. His friends grimaced in the background when he began to simultaneously coo and worship the Duel Monster card. Rex was the only one unpeturbed by his actions, even gazed at him gratefully, that is- until Joey switched his cooing to the Dino-Duelist for wearing _'such a cute expression.'_

To everyone's shock, including Joey's, Rex blushed to the point of passing out.

_'__Well… shit.'_

Feeling at fault, he slung the young Duelist onto his back, piggyback style, and merrily informed his friends that they should continue looking for more Duelists to duel.

"Joey! You can't just take the kid!" Tea scolded him, hands on her hips.

Tristan shook his head beside her.

Both Yugi and Ryou simply looked amused.

"Oh?" Joey affected a confused expression. "You want him to be hurt?"

"What?!" Tea's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Well, he's unconscious." He jostled Rex lightly to prove his point. "If I leave him here, anyone can come along and cause him trouble."

"You shouldn't have messed with the kid in the first place then," Tristan blew out through his teeth.

"Hey, I didn't expect him to faint," he insisted. _'That took even me by surprise.'_

"At least he's taking responsibility for him now," Ryou tried, making a placating gesture with his hands.

"We can't just leave him here," Yugi turned to Tea.

"I didn't mean to imply that," Tea sighed.

"Alright then, let's keep going!" Joey cried out happily.

This was certainly much sooner than he planned to bring Rex into the fold, but Joey figured he could swing it. The Dino-Duelist would, after all, come to be family someday.

Then there was Mako Tsunami.

Joey hadn't meant to show-off when they came across him. It was reflex to catch the spear thrown in their direction.

"How- how in the world did he catch that?!" Rex's eyes bugged out, having come awake once they came upon the clearing alongside the cliff. "How?!"

"Way to go man!" Tristan slapped a hand to Joey's shoulder. "That was awesome!"

"I'm starting to think Joey is doing things like this on purpose," Tea grumbled.

"I don't know Tea," Ryou tapped a finger against his cheek. "I just think there might be more to him than we realized."

Tea sighed. "What do you think Yugi?"

"I think Joey's always going to be unpredictable," the lilac-eyed teen responded. No one could have put it better.

"He's out of his mind is what he is," Rex admonished and they all consented that that too was true.

"You should be careful about throwing around pointy objects," Joey addressed as he twirled the spear within his hand before lazily tossing it back to the fisherman. "You might get hurt, or hurt someone else."

"I assure you my aim is true." Mako caught the spear with a glint of interest in his eye. "Tell me, what is your name?"

"Joey Wheeler. What about you?" He'd almost followed that up with the taunt of _'Fish-boy,'_ but it fell flat on his tongue. This was the same Mako that had given his life to assure them an escape. The blond respected him far too much to taunt him like that.

"I am Mako Tsunami and I challenge you to a duel Joey Wheeler!"

"Pass."

Mako faltered. "What?"

"I pass," Joey shrugged. "I just had a duel not that long ago." He feigned a yawn. "I'm tired. And I'm busy digesting the delicious fish you caught. Thanks again for that by the way."

"Is he serious?" Rex's mouth fell open, "That's Mako Tsunami right there! Is he actually serious?"

"I told you guys, he's doing these things on purpose," Tea insisted.

"You might have a point," Ryou relented.

"You can't just ignore my challenge!" Mako insisted.

The blond smiled. "I never mentioned disregarding your challenge. I'm merely re-directing it."

"Whom?" Mako asked, giving Joey a curious glance.

Joey flicked a thumb back. "That right there is Yugi Mutou. He received a personal invite from Pegasus himself to duel here. You're better off dueling him, though I gotta warn ya, ya will lose."

"An invitation from Pegasus himself? The Creator of Duel Monsters?" Mako's renewed vigor was palpable as he zeroed in on Yugi. "Come forth Yugi and let us duel at once!"

"You sure you want to step aside Joey?" Yugi asked as he passed by him.

He nodded. "He's all yours buddy."

"Joey, you alright man?" Tristan had a worried look on his face.

"Course I'm alright Tris," the blond blinked dubiously. "Why do you ask?"

"Nothing. Nevermind."

"Well, okay then," Joey shrugged. He moved towards Rex. "Hey little buddy, what's wrong with you?"

The Dino-Duelist burst, clearly having been holding it in for awhile, "You're crazy you know that! Certifiably insane! I can't believe you've got my Red Eyes. Why am I even still here? With all of you?"

"Easy there Rex, relax," Joey gave the young boy's shoulder a squeeze. "You can leave if you want but you're better off sticking with friends."

"...friends?"

Joey's heart squeezed even as he smiled and ruffled Rex's hair through his beanie. He was going to give him leeway though. He didn't want to push.

"That's a real cute expression you've got again."

Well, he wasn't going to push much.

"Stop that!" Rex demanded, batting his hands away and blushing. The pre-teen crossed his arms and ostentatiously put distance between himself and Joey, but he didn't leave.

"Since when did we agree to let the Dino-shrimp to tag along with us?" Tristan whispered into Tea's ear. "Ow!"

She smacked him upside the head in response.

Ryou caught her eye and they exchanged grins.

"Lets focus on cheering Yugi on," Tea declared.

It reminded Joey then as he gazed up at the Dueling Platform that Yugi was actually _'the Other Yugi,' _as they had once taken to calling him. He had to make sure he didn't slip up and call him Yami (or worse, call him by his real name, Atem) before they all discovered the truth. It was awhile a ways before they would learn the _Other Yugi _was indeed his own person and the spirit of an Ancient Pharaoh at that.

"Lets go Yugi!" he cheered on.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"How is he?" Tea asked as she handed him a bowl of soup.

Joey set the bowl down on his left knee so he could eat left-handed. He looked to his right where the dark-haired pre-teen was slumped against him, sleeping soundly with the blond's right arm encircled protectively around him.

"He's had a rough day."

Mai frowned. "Poor kid."

Poor kid indeed.

The day sailed into a shit-storm after his duel with Mai.

But, before that, the _Other Yugi _won against Mako as he _predicted._ Watching the two duel had been pleasurable, though it still lacked to raise the sense of thrill Joey knew he possessed. Maybe he just needed for the stakes to be raised?

Regardless, they left Mako on good terms. Joey made a point to exchange numbers and alert the Fisherman-Duelist that he will keep in touch. He knew by the tight hug goodbye Mako gave him that he would be expected to make due on his promise.

They ran into Mai not too long after that, or rather, they ran into the Duelist running away from her as he declared Mai a witch after his crushing loss.

Before Mai could get a word in edge-wise, Joey loudly asked if she would care to duel against him and complimented her hair in the same breath.

"Flattery won't help you against me!" Mai assured, accepting his challenge with a knowing-look to her eyes.

Joey loved Mai, he honestly did. She was amongst the strongest of persons he'd ever come across and one of the most formidable Duelists in the world. Their romantic interest may have never taken off, but they blossomed a wonderful sibling relationship. She was his big sister in every way but blood, going as far as participating in his wedding.

He didn't hold back in their duel, that wouldn't be fair to her. She was clearly overwhelmed, often, but held herself with poise as he knew she would. The male had even indulged her card-reading until-

"My head hurts."

"Oh?" Mai bit out.

(Okay, so maybe she hadn't been so much poised as ticked whenever the duel wasn't clearly in her favor)

"It's all the perfume," he continued, eyeing Mai through squinted eyes. "You're already strikingly beautiful. I don't understand why you need so much of it." He scrunched up his nose. "So many different types at once too."

Mai blanched. "Well that's- I don't-"

"Oh," Joey called, just _'getting it.'_ "That's how ya read ya cards, ain't it? They're scented differently and ya memorized which scent goes with which card."

"Why you-!" She cut herself off and just stared at him.

Joey sniffed dramatically. "I have a strong nose."

The duel spiraled into hilarity from there. The two snipped at each other back and forth, Joey making it clear he greatly enjoyed getting a rise out of her, but his teasing was so artfully veiled Mai couldn't help but to take the bait every time.

In that, they were much too similar. They chose to fight where a more level-headed person would have conceded. He didn't need to be reminded that Mai was particularly hot-headed when provoked. Just as he was.

Inevitably, he posed the question he knew would mark the start of their friendship.

"Why do ya duel?"

Predictably, Mai was all flash and smiles as she rattled on about the cruise ships she's been on and the designer clothes she preferred. It was so easy for him now, to read her through lies. It hurt his heart he so failed to notice the facade the first time around.

"Liar."

That single word brought a silence about the Dueling Arena and all of those watching alongside it.

"You're a liar," Joey repeated, voice steady. Gone was the person he presented all throughout the duel, from the tilt of his teasing grin to the innocent, doe-eyed expressions.

"Now hold on!" Mai slammed a fist down onto the Dueling Podium and raised her other hand to point an accusing finger at him. "Who are you to call me that!"

"I'm only telling the truth, but that's okay. I'll simply hold ya to it that ya will tell me your own truth someday. For now I'll do ya a favor and let ya know why I duel," Joey smiled. "I'm here for the prize money."

"Then how are you any different from the rest of us?" Mai fumed, fixing him with a dark glare. "Why would you even need money if you claim to be marrying Seto Kaiba? Are you that greedy?"

"I'm not married yet," he quipped. "But as I was sayin', I'm here for the prize money. Serenity, my little sister, was diagnosed with glaucoma and will soon go blind. There's a surgery that can save her sight, but time is of essence and it'll take a good chunk of money I don't have in order to cover it. And so, I duel for her," Joey's own gaze softened. "Though, I also duel for me, because I simply love dueling. It makes me feel good and… it fires me up."

_'__Well, it did,'_ he mentally added.

He flinched when he looked up at the gaze caught in those violet eyes. A quiet but flaming understanding. It was a look Mai had worn often in the future…

… _Wild blonde mane streaked by pink and purple, clawed hands and feet, flowing wings matched in their brilliant color only by their razor-sharp texture, and a sinful body covered only just appropriately by blue fur… but for all that Mai personified beauty and deadly, she managed to off-set it with the look in her eyes. It was the change in her wisdom that truly defined her. The same look she held when she burned-_

Joey schooled his features to a plain expression as sweat gathered at his temple, hands tightening their grip on the Dueling Podium.

Within the next two moves he had Mai beat. He knew he wouldn't be able to get her to stick around then, so he merely gave her his choice parting words, "I have something I want to share with you, but you have to figure out what it is. It's something that you can see, but cannot touch."

It's a show of the first crack in her armor that she didn't just scoff at him. She did, however, burst out laughing. "What on Earth do you mean?"

Joey only smiled softly at her, maybe a little fonder than he meant to. "Think about it."

Mai took off after that as he knew she would.

(Mai came back later as he also knew she would)

After his duel with Mai they wandered around rather aimlessly.

Or at least, Joey let his friends think he didn't know where he led them.

(As if he didn't know. This next part was something he'd never forgotten)

"I'm givin' ya a fair warning," Joey called out once they stumbled across new trouble. "Put the kid down."

Everyone stared at him, shocked by his cold tone.

Pegasus' bodyguard laughed loudly and tightened his grip on the young Duelist that desperately tried to break away from his hold. "Rules are rules. You lose your StarChips, you leave the island."

"That's bull man!" Tristan argued. "The kid already said his Chips were stolen!"

"Hey! I'm not a kid!" the unknown Duelist claimed, not pausing in his squirming around.

"It's not fair to do that! Any big guy can easily attack one of us small guys!" Rex put in, fists clenched.

"I'm not small either!" the young Duelist barked.

"Say we find the StarChip thief and get this kid's StarChips back, will ya let him go then?" Joey asked.

"Tell you what," Pegasus' goon grinned. "I'll give you till sundown to do just that."

The blond nodded and looked to the young Duelist held captive. "Which way?"

The frightened youngster nodded his head to the right.

"Alright then." Joey walked right up to the goon. He lifted his gaze up just enough to glare at him in an intimidating manner from under his bangs. "I believe I already warned you to let him go, right?"

The large man laughed again, "You think you can threaten me you little- augh!"

Joey reached out and gripped the man's wrist that held onto the young Duelist, squeezing until the bones ground together. As soon as the kid was let go he jabbed his free elbow against the man's temple, effectively knocking him out.

"That takes care of him." He swiped his palms together, as though brushing off dirt. "Say, what's your-"

Joey blinked, dumbfounded as he watched the kid he just rescued running away from them, already a sizable distance away. "-name?"

"Some people have no appreciation," Tristan commented.

"I'll say," Tea remarked.

"What do we do now?" Yugi asked.

Rex glanced at the short teen. "What we've been doing, duh."

Yugi shook his head. "No, I mean about the StarChip thief."

"Why should we do anything? Problem's solved!" Rex threw his hands up.

"Naw, we should still find them," Tristan said. "Someone like that could cause a lot of trouble."

"Sounds like a plan! Let's go people!" Joey called out as he took the lead once more.

"I understand the situation is problematic," Ryou said a short time later. "But, how are we going to find the StarChip thief?"

"The albino has a point." Rex stuck his hands in his pockets as he ambled along, "This is pointless."

"Don't call him an albino!" Tea chastised, fixing Rex with a firm stare.

Rex looked confused. "But, he is?"

Yugi took pity on him. "No, he's not," he explained kindly.

"He's not?"

"No," Ryou admitted. "I am not, though I do understand the confusion. It's a fairly common mistake. I get that a lot."

"Rex has a point though," Yugi pointed out. "How are we going to find the thief?"

"We'll look for them everywhere!" Joey grinned. "Around every tree," the blond stepped off the path and swung around a tree. As he let it go, he mimicked creeping up, "And behind every bush!"

He pounced on the shrubbery and shocked the others when it let out a wail. Quick on his reflexes, he snatched the person who'd been hiding behind the bush by the collar. "Check it out guys, I caught me a thief!"

Rex's mouth fell wide open. "I can't- I can't even-" The Dino-Duelist shook his head in exasperation. "That did not just happen!"

"Joey!" Tea called, eyes incredulous. "Is that really him?"

Tristan cocked his head. "He's so... tiny."

Yugi blushed. "Tiny isn't bad."

"Yeah!" Rex agreed. "Can't tiny people be strong too?"

"That is not what I meant," Tristan back-tracked, waving his hands frantically in front of him.

"So," Joey posed, turning his captive around so he could look them in the eyes. "Who are you?"

The thief fiercely struggled. "You will never-"

The blond tugged the beanie-and-scarf disguise off. "Mokuba. Huh."

"Who?" Tristan asked.

"Mokuba Kaiba," Joey explained. "Seto Kaiba's little brother-"

Ryou blinked. "I didn't know Kaiba had a brother."

"- and my future brother-in-law."

"What?!" Mokuba stopped moving.

Joey blinked owlishly at the young boy. "Seto and I will be married one day."

Tristan groaned. "Not this again."

"Married?!" Mokuba and surprisingly Rex shouted.

Joey nodded and set Mokuba down. "Yeah, but we can talk about that later. Right now, how 'bout ya tell us why you're stealing all them StarChips for?"

Stormy grey eyes narrowed at him, easily distracted by the change in subject. Joey swallowed as he took in the long mane of dark hair and the roundness of Mokuba's eyes. He'd forgotten just how _young_ Mokuba had been at this time.

"I need them!" the youngest of them cried out.

Joey raised a brow, keeping with character. "What for?"

"None of your business!"

"What'd Pegasus do to ya?"

Incredibly, Mokuba's eyes managed to widen further.

"What's Pegasus got to do with this?" Yugi asked, frown marring his face.

Joey kept his eyes on Mokuba. "You've been stealing StarChips and they're only good for one thing, getting into Pegasus' Castle. So, obviously you're after Pegasus."

"Is that really Joey talking?" Tea questioned in a whisper.

Ryou smiled. "Rather astute of him."

"You think you're so smart, but you don't even know why Pegasus had this tournament in the first place, do you!?" Mokuba clearly worked himself up into a fit, his little chest heaving. "Pegasus wants to take control of Kaiba Corp!"

Joey placed a steady hand upon Mokuba's shoulder and crouched down to his level.

"Why don't ya tell us the story?" he advised. "All of it. We might be able to help."

Mokuba let out what sounded like a sneer at that, but elaborated nonetheless. "Everyone knows Pegasus created Duel Monsters, but his tech doesn't come anywhere near what Kaiba Corp. can do. He drew up a contract with Kaiba Corp. not that long ago to form a partnership. It all seemed good for awhile, until we realized Pegasus' partnership was a farce."

Mokuba clenched his fists. "He sent men to kill my big brother, but Seto got away. Seto had our bodyguards take me into hiding when he first suspected something was wrong, but I gave them the slip to come here."

"Oh my gosh," Tea breathed, hand coming up to cover her mouth.

"Pegasus is still planning something and I'm here to find out what that is." Fire lit the young boy's eyes. "I won't let Pegasus hurt my brother or Kaiba Corp!"

Joey gave Mokuba's shoulder a squeeze and stood up. "Okay."

Several pairs of eyes blinked at him.

"Joey?"

He guided a confused and suspicious Mokuba towards the gang. "We'll help ya out, but," Joey ticked an eyebrow up. "You've got to return those StarChips to whom they belong."

The young Kaiba immediately stepped away from him and cradled the StarChips to his chest protectively. "What can you even do?!"

Joey's eyes uncharacteristically hardened. "Believe me kid, ya do this alone and you'll get caught. The last thing ya want is to be in Pegasus' clutches. It'll give him leverage over ya brother."

Mokuba looked up at him defiantly, but there was a faint tremble to his lips that gave away his true feelings.

The blond Duelist continued. "I promise, I'll do everything in my power to keep ya and your brother safe."

The kid reluctantly relented. "Well, okay," he picked his head up and eyed Joey. "Why would you want to help us anyway?"

Mokuba's eyes widened as the blond reached down and slung around him, cheesy grin in place. "Did ya already forget what I said earlier? How could I not want to help my husband-to-be and my future-brother-in-law?"

"No way is Seto getting married!" Mokuba shouted, disentangling himself from Joey's hold and pointing an accusing finger right at him.

"He is too!"

"No way! He would have told me!"

"Well, maybe he just wanted to surprise ya."

"My brother doesn't like surprises!" Mokuba's voice raised a pitch.

"Then he probably just forgot," Joey scratched his head absently. "He is rather forgetful about things like that."

"My brother isn't- aahh!"

The blond interrupted Mokuba by crouching down and swinging the kid onto his back.

"Well, now that we've established I'm helping my future-in-law," Joey flashed an innocent smile and led the march. "Onward gang!"

With just one look at each other, his friends realized they all shared the same single sentiment; there was something really off about Joey Wheeler.

Joey paid them no mind and only half-listened to Mokuba's endless chatter. His heart was in his throat. He alone knew what was coming up and he knew he was going to take this next part just as hard if not much harder than the rest.

The arrival of the fake Seto Kaiba, with Pegasus' goon smiling all too wide at them beside the impostor.

That's when it all went to hell.

"Seto?" Mokuba's eyes widened. "Seto!"

Joey held him back. "That's not your brother."

"But-"

"Look closer," he instructed.

The young Kaiba did, and his entire form crumpled in on himself. "You're right," his large eyes wavered. "That's not him."

He nodded solemnly. "Hey Yug, this one's all yours too."

Yugi only looked at him this time before moving up.

Joey knew there was no way he'd be able to keep his cool while dueling a fake Seto Kaiba. "Go kick that fake's butt."

"And you." Amber eyes glared at Pegasus' pointy-haired bodyguard. "You're going to tell me who I have to beat down for insulting my future-husband like this."

The man laughed. "What are you going on about kid?"

"Right then," Joey cracked his knuckles as he walked up to the man whom obviously thought he could take him on now that the element of surprise was gone given their previous fight. He'd have to show him how wrong he was. "You'll be a good start."

Yugi winced from his view from the podium. He flashed to his alternate self and Yami watched on as Joey took care of business with a smirk on his face.

Mokuba's mouth fell open. "That was so-"

"Insane!" Rex cut in. "Cool, but also insane!"

Joey lazily plopped down onto the unconscious bodyguard back. He motioned for Rex and Mokuba to come to him and after a few seconds they did so, quite giddily. They piled onto the man's back and Joey nestled them into his sides.

"Remind me to never anger Joey," Ryou commented.

Tristan sighed. "It's like he's gotten even scarier."

"Come on Yug!" Joey called out. "Bring on the smack down! You've got an audience here!"

Yami nodded. "I won't let them get away with ridiculing your lover like this," the Ancient Spirit spoke determinedly, smirk still tilting his lips.

Tea slapped a hand to her forehead. "Please stop encouraging him."

Yami did as promised and soundly trounced the fake.

What came next was so different from what happened in the Original Timeline even Joey wouldn't have been able to see it coming.

"What? What are you kids doing on top of me?!"

"Well, well. Looks like someone's up from his little nappy," Joey hooked his arms around Mokuba and Rex's waists and jumped away from the now-awake man. "What's wrong there sweetheart, ya mad ya didn't catch the duel?"

"You rotten little-"

"Pay attention now," Joey set Mokuba and Rex down carefully, motioning towards the Duel with his head. "Here's the big finish."

Yami called his final attack and wiped out the fake Kaiba's LifePoints down to zero.

"Aww yeah!" Tristan cheered. His bright hazel eyes turned towards the goon. "What do you think of that!"

"So you've beaten the fake, I can see why Pegasus is interested in you," the bodyguard bared his teeth at Yami before turning to Mokuba. "But, it's no matter. You want to know why it's a fake up there? You want to know why your brother isn't here, looking for you? It's because we got to him first and he's dead. Like this." The man pulled out a gun and shot.

The sickening sound of a bullet whipping through a person's head rang in everyone's ears.

Tea, Tristan, and Rex screamed.

"NOOO!" Yami rang out, frozen in place on the Dueling Podium.

Ryou and Mokuba merely looked on, horrified, though the latter was clearly in worse shape.

Whatever the fake Kaiba was… he still bled like any other.

Joey fell to his instincts and practiced skills.

He learned long ago, shots were bad. Shots meant you had to do something.

(If you did nothing you died).

He moved.

"Now," the man announced, aiming his gun in Mokuba's direction. "Why don't you come with meee-"

Joe pushed the man's arm across his chest with his left hand and punched him in the face with his right. He twisted the man's wrist until he dropped the gun, let the man go completely, shifted into a stance and waited.

"Aaarrgh! You-"

A kick connected with the man's temple and he went down.

Joey was almost disappointed. Too easy. Same method, different maneuver.

He walked around the goon and discreetly picked up the gun, hiding it away on his person. The focus wasn't on him at the moment.

He turned back to the gang. As he thought, they hardly noticed what he did, because the real damage lay elsewhere.

Mokuba had made his way to the fallen, fake Seto. The sight of his dead brother, blood flowing freely, brain splattered across the grass; even if it wasn't his actual brother- it wasn't an image Mokuba should have ever come across. Joey caught up to him in time to wrap his arms around Mokuba and pull him in, letting the young boy scream his heart out into his chest.

They obviously attracted attention, though thankfully only one came to investigate.

The sound of a thud announced their arrival.

"What is going on?!" Mai demanded, chest heaving, having clearly ran her way towards them. Her purse lay where she dropped it on the grass.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Joey tucked Mokuba in. Rex already slept soundly on the boy's other side. He gave into impulse and ran his hand through Mokuba's hair, smiling down at both sleeping boys before he stood back up and headed over to where the others had formed a semi-circle around the fire.

The blond sat down in clear view of the sleeping boys. "How's everyone doin'?"

Ryou's haggard expression faced him.

Joey couldn't keep from frowning at that.

"Doing as best we can under the circumstances," Yugi answered, trying for a smile and failing spectacularly.

Tea wrapped her arms tighter around herself. "I still can't believe that happened."

Tristan placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, but said nothing himself.

"We all saw what happened," Mai interjected. "No point in pretending it didn't occur." The female blonde paused. "I'm more worried about the kid, Mokuba Kaiba." Her violet eyes flipped to Joey, begging the question.

"He's asleep," was all he could give in answer.

A short silence settled on them all, interrupted only by Tristan's moving to stoke the fire.

"Hey Joey?"

"Yeah?" he returned, bracing himself for the inevitable questions he'd been expecting.

Yugi hesitated. "Is everything... alright Joey?"

Everyone's attention was on him. He could feel it as he kept his eyes on the youngest boys.

What could he say?

Everything was most decidedly not okay. It was as he'd been told, the friends he _knew_ were not yet present in the friends he was with _now_. Although he still believed he was doing the right thing in changing history, he was thrown off by the memories that surfaced anew. The fact of the matter was, he knew what every person around him would grow up to be like. He knew how every one of them would go on to die. He was restless and ached to do more though he knew he had to place limits. He could only take on every situation as it came and make for the best possible outcome. Doing any more could create a whole set of problems he'd have no insight on (which he just learned the hard way).

For now the best thing to do was to twiddle his thumbs, knowing he wouldn't ever be okay until the war came- and went.

Joey scratched at his nose. "I'm not sick or anythin' but dat's probably not what ya mean right?"

Yugi blushed, but inclined his head, _'yes.'_

"You haven't been yourself," Tea added.

"I'm not so dumb ya know."

"I didn't say you were Joey," Tea clarified. "It just seems like you've somehow changed, quite suddenly."

Ryou added, "You have been a bit startling."

Joey swept his gaze over them all.

Every one of them looked at him with varying degrees of intrigue and wariness.

'_Crap.' _

"You're my friends," Joey stated. "But, let's not pretend that you know everything about me. When I'm with you guys, I'm happy, and yeah I'm also loud and impulsive and I've never been school smart." His eyes shifted down towards the fire. "Ya forget I was once in a gang. Ya forget I lived a very different life before and I'm good at things I probably shouldn't be good at. There are sides to me that will come out when the situation calls for it. I won't like it any more than you do, probably, but it's necessary."

"My, my," Mai drawled after a tense moment of silence. "If you'd have said any of that when we met I wouldn't have believed you." She smiled roguishly, "It certainly ups your intrigue. Almost makes me believe you just might catch Seto Kaiba's eye."

"I'm pretty sure he did that when he practically proposed to him," Tea deadpanned.

Violet eyes flashed with interest. "I have yet to hear that story."

"I hate to impose," Ryou yawned and rubbed his knuckles into an eye. "But, we probably should try and catch some sleep should we not?"

"Ryou's right," Yugi agreed, submitting to his own yawn. "Joey, Mai, and I have to be ready to duel tomorrow."

"How about we take turns?" Tristan suggested. "Ryou and I can stay up for a bit, then either Joey and Yugi or Mai and Tea."

Joey stood up and stretched. "Good idea. Yugi and I can cover the next shift. If that's okay with ya, pal?"

Yugi smiled as he rolled out a blanket. "That's alright with me."

"Kay," he answered. "I'm ma sleep near the runts. Wake us up in a couple of hours."

_'__Just give me a few hours and I'll be back at it.'_

**_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_**

_Danger. _

He'd been a heavy sleeper once.

Now he woke at the drop of a hat.

In quick succession, he sprung to his feet and fell into a stance in front of the younger boys. He wasn't going to let anyone-

"Tea?"

The aqua of her eyes stood out in the firelight. "I was coming to wake you up."

"What's wrong?" he asked, dismissing her slight apprehension of him.

She filled him in as she moved to wake Tristan and Ryou.

He'd forgotten.

He'd forgotten about Mai wandering off and Yami following in her wake to look after her. The blonde female and Yugi hadn't been able to sleep and so had switched places with Tristan and Ryou. It wasn't much longer after that that Mai gave Yugi the slip, and Yami took over to investigate.

Soon enough Tristan and himself headed out to find Mai and Yami while Tea and Ryou stayed behind to look after a still sleeping Mokuba and Rex.

"Shouldn't the two of you be asleep?" Yami asked as soon as they reached them.

"Who could sleep through all her yapping?" Joey returned, assessing the scene quickly. Whatever occurred, Yami had handled. "Ya can wake up the whole forest with them lungs ya got Mai."

Mai rolled her eyes. "I think I prefer you when you're serious."

"What's with the StarChips Yug?" he prompted, although knowing the answer. That part he remembered at least.

"They belong to Mai," Yami lifted them in her direction. "If she'll have them."

She became discouraged. "I- I don't-"

"Tell ya what, I'll make this easy," Joey grinned. "If she don't want 'em then I'll take 'em!"

He swiped the StarChips into his hand and gazed at Mai with a positively gleeful expression. "Thanks Mai, with these 10 StarChips I'll be the first one to the castle now!"

"How dare you!" Mai shouted as she began chasing him around, growing more furious as he evaded, taunted, and teased. "Those are mine! Give them back to-"

Joey deposited the StarChips into her hand and closed his hand around hers."Let's just say ya owe Yugi a favor then and leave it at that, yeah?"

"Thank you," she whispered, expression quizzical but soft as she pulled away from him.

He nodded, his own eyes warming to a shining hue.

"Hey," Tristan called out, breaking the serene moment. "Do you guys hear that?"

Yugi nodded, transformed back to himself. "It sounds like-"

"-A copter!" Joey joyously surmised. The blond pretended not to notice their questioning glances. "Come on, let's get back to the others!"

He ran off leaving the rest to hasten to catch up to him.

Seto was about to arrive and he couldn't slow himself down to wait. Joey wouldn't be able to be around him much at this point in time. He wanted to favor the few times he could for now.

Luckily enough he didn't have to waste time waking anyone up once he got back to their makeshift camp.

"Joey!" Mokuba cried out as the male scooped him up into his arms and kept running in the direction of the cliff he knew was just a minute ahead through the thick of trees.

"It's a helicopter roaring squirt and I bet I know whose it is!"

His heart clenched at the way Mokuba turned to look up at him, eyes sliding wide open at once.

"Seto?" Mokuba gazed out ahead.

Joey grinned as he popped out of the trees and into the clearing as the copter touched down. He pulled Mokuba into him and ducked his own face into the mass of dark hair to protect their eyes from the dust kicked up as the machine's whirring came to a stop.

He held his breath once the helicopter stopped completely and out stepped a familiar figure.

Mokuba immediately wriggled in his grasp. "Seto!"

The blond set him down so the kid could run to his older brother and tackle him in a hug as the others arrived behind him.

"Is that Seto Kaiba?" Tea asked.

"Yup," Joey answered, drawing out the _'p.'_

Tristan blanched. "Is that Kaiba smiling?"

"Yup."

Joey could tell the elder brother was much more surprised by Mokuba's presence than by theirs. No doubt Seto would have expected the need to perform a rescue and go up against Pegasus.

His insides gave a happy lurch at the sight of a tearful Mokuba in his brother's embrace. Even at this point, Kaiba was not so unaffected he couldn't spare a smile for his brother (and for all to see).

He walked over to the Kaiba brothers, chest filling with anticipation.

_'__It's so good to see him.' _A genuine smile spread his lips. _'It's always so good to see him.'_

"Seto, I missed you so much! I heard you were attacked so I came here to try and dig something up to help, but then I got caught and I thought I was doomed and then they shot the fake you and told me you were dead and- and-" Mokuba's eyes spilled over, tears running quick down his cheeks. "But you're not d-dead! You're not! I knew you weren't, I knew it!"

With that he buried his face into the hollow of his elder brother's collarbone.

Seto squeezed him tight. "You know I would have done anything to get you back Mokuba."

The kid pulled back, smiling through his sniffles. "I know," Mokuba croaked.

"Brotherly love," Joey spoke, drawing those blue eyes to him. "You're both adorable, ya know that?" He smiled at Seto's glare and stretched out his arms. "Where's my hug darling? Mad because I forgot to bring ya flowers?"

It was then the focus shifted to Mokuba who immediately wrestled himself out of his brother's arms. Their happy reunion was thrown into orbit when the kid stared Seto down through red-rimmed eyes and pointed at him in accusation. "You never told me you were getting married Seto! Why wouldn't you tell me that?"

"Seto! I'm ashamed!" Joey chastised as he stepped up to them and crouched down to Mokuba's level, placing his hands on the small shoulders and tilting his head up in an attempt to off-set the kid's glare with his puppy-dog eyes (he had it on good authority that they do work, but only on his husband and only if he didn't abuse the privilege). "How could ya not tell ya own brother about our upcoming and most blessed union?"

Mai couldn't help it, she burst out laughing. "Oh, this is good," she held a hand around her middle. "This is so very, very good."

Astonishment lit Seto Kaiba's features for a few seconds before another cold glare took over. "I am not marrying anyone."

"Careful there Seto," Joey wagged a finger at him. "You'll hurt my feelings."

"I don't even know you."

"Now that's a lie," the blond stood up and planted his hands on his hips. "I'm more than sure ya did research on finding out all about me when I vowed to win your hand in marriage."

Seto's lips fell open. The tall brunette wasn't used to having anyone call him out (and be right). His pale lips pulled into a superior smirk nevertheless. "Then you should know I wouldn't waste any time on a mutt like you Wheeler."

"Hey! You bas-"

Joey let out a long-suffering sigh over Tristan's shouting. "We really shouldn't have spats like these in public. I mean, do ya really want everyone to find out about our affairs?" He shook his head. "Like the Blue-Eyes situation."

"The Blue Eyes situation?" Mokuba innocently prompted, catching wind of just what the game was.

"Oh yes," Joey huffed dejectedly as he turned back to his friends. Tristan and Rex's mouths hung open, Ryou and Yugi smiled, Tea's left eye twitched, and Mai clearly enjoyed the whole scene. "Seto's favorite Duel Monster is the Blue Eyes White Dragon, although obsession might be the better way to describe it. If the Blue Eyes were an actual person I'd fear for my future marriage."

"How do you come up with these ridiculous fantasies Wheeler?" Seto spat.

Joey didn't miss the questions swimming in the blue orbs, nor the nastiness in Seto's tone that tried to disguise how confused and wary he felt. Because Joey shouldn't know these things about Seto Kaiba. The fact that he did clearly unnerved the tall brunette whose way of coping fell in line with his ruthless business tactics.

"Are you really that-"

"I can see it now!" the blond male shouted. He punctuated his tale with overt gestures and fancy footwork as though he were performing on a stage.

"Oh Blue Eyes!" Joey's voice failed to match Kaiba's gruff tones. "I love you with all my heart!" He spun and held a hand to his heart, voice coming out in a high pitch next, "No Seto! It is I who loves you with all my heart!"

His voice switched back and forth between the tones. "Blue Eyes! Seto! Blue Eyes! Seto!"

Joey let out a dramatic groan and gazed over at the tall brunette with a mischivieous gleam to his eyes. He was going to pay for this next part, he knew it, but couldn't keep himself from going on with it.

"Oh Seto!" He hugged himself tight. "I love you so much! Give me more! Better! Harder! Oh babyyy-"

"You little-"

Joey let out a surprised _'oomph!'_ even as he brought his hands up and reacted.

Seto had tackled him to the ground.

He couldn't believe it.

Seto Kaiba actually tackled him to the ground.

It wasn't that Seto never resorted physical measures. His future husband had a long history of martial arts practice hidden away behind his I'm-all-about-my-company , at this time, nothing really provoked the tall brunette that he couldn't solve with words or a Duel. Although, to be fair, he had been pushing it.

His arms had come up and grasped that of Seto's. It was only because he saw the other coming at the last second, and recognized him, that Joey didn't attempt to break his arms in order to escape being pushed down.

Let it not be said that he could not improvise when needed however.

He gazed up into the stark blue eyes, at the brunette whom looked down upon him so very shocked by his own actions, and smiled. "Aww, I'm only messing with ya hun. I know it's me you like."

Then he did it, the thing that led Seto Kaiba to scramble off of him in a hurry, face red both by anger and by a blush.

Joey lifted his head up and gave Seto a peck on the nose.

Mai laughed so hard she had to lean heavily on Tea for support, the latter whom looked less than pleased by the added weight on their person.

"Wow," Rex let out.

Mokuba's cheeky grin took up his whole face.

Joey smiled brightly. "So, how 'bout we all go to the castle together?"

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

He managed to convince him, though it took a little effort. Yugi had initially felt uncomfortable accepting the extra StarChips even though he earned them well enough. Joey's point drove itself home when countered that he only had four StarChips himself and didn't feel bad about taking an extra six. It's not like it would have been difficult for him to gain them on his own, but this saved them time.

He'd gotten crap for that, as he expected. It made him happy that his friends were still the same good people they managed to stay even when the war began.

Good people whom made good and _right_ decisions, even those that led to death.

(It took time, and many deaths, before they had to accept that if they wanted to win it sometimes meant doing bad things. Things that made them question their morals and kept them up so many nights.

War wasn't fair. To anyone.)

In the end Yugi and Joey had 10 StarChips each due to Mokuba's thievery and Mai already had 10 of her own.

They all headed to Pegasus' Castle as a group.

As much as Joey wanted to spend his time talking to Seto, he could tell by the clenched jaw he wouldn't be all that welcomed.

Seto on his part dammed the insane blond for inspiring Mokuba's awe and himself for being unable to say no to his little brother when Mokuba begged to be part of the group. Seto's sanity was only tethered together by Joey's reminder that he had to confront Pegasus anyway.

After Joey punched out the guards whom tried to keep some of the others from entering the castle, the entire group was ushered to the railing above the Dueling Arena.

Joey tensed when Pegasus appeared down below and sat down upon his makeshift throne.

"Well, this is a lovely surprise. All of the finalists have arrived sooner than expected," the eccentric man trilled, flipping a swath of silver hair behind his shoulder.

"All?" Mai questioned. She looked to Joey and then followed the cut of his eyes to the darkened hallway where a tall figure stepped out onto the platform.

"Mako!" Yugi burst out gleefully.

"My friends," the fisherman greeted jovially as he drew close. "I knew you would be here!"

"Mako, it's good to see ya man," Tristan thumped a hand to his back and received a thump in return.

Joey stared at Mako, likely a little too hard he realized and gave himself a little shake. _'Looks like Bandit Keith must have gotten caught.' _He smirked. _'Or didn't steal enough StarChips in time is the better probability.'_

_'… __Such a big word for you love…'_

The blond frowned. Was it normal for him to hear his husband's words? It was still easy to imagine what he'd say. It couldn't be good, but he didn't want it to go away completely either.

"Joey! I admit I am torn between wanting to duel you and wanting a rematch against Yugi." Mako blinked owlishly, "Were you not taller before Yugi?"

The lilac-eyed teen laughed nervously. "I'm the same height I've always been."

"You all know each other too, how grand." Pegasus smiled over his swirling glass of wine. "We also have a lovely audience in attendance and the Kaiba brothers as guests."

"How could I ignore such an invitation Pegasus?" Kaiba delicately put out, holding Mokuba to his side.

"How indeed?" the man smiled enigmatically.

Joey's insides squirmed. Pegasus may have redeemed himself somewhat, but he was always primarily a villain. Seto's hatred of Pegasus was something he'd had a hard time swallowing, until he got the full details of all Pegasus had done and what he had continued to do. The man was never entirely good, even after Duelist Kingdom was done and over with.

"Can we move this along?" he drawled, leaning on the railing. "I've got a wedding to plan for."

Pegasus looked positively ecstatic by the news. "Oh, who is getting married? You're all so young you know."

Joey aimed a flashy grin at his intended. "Seto Kaiba and I are of course!"

"And here I thought you'd have to beat me in a duel first." Seto's eyes were on him.

_'__He's playing along is he?'_ Joey's grin stretched wider. "So, you're agreeing to the terms then?"

"You'd never win mutt."

"You need to work on your pet names," he chastised. Joey flicked a thumb at Pegasus' scandalized expression. "Tell me it wasn't at worth it for that at least, I mean look at his face!"

Mokuba giggled. "It's worth it."

Kaiba's sudden glare at Joey clearly stated, _'This is all your fault.'_

"I'm confused," Pegasus admitted.

"Just ignore it," Rex mumbled. "It's the only way to survive being around these people. Just ignore half of what they say and do."

"Such joyous news!" Mako clasped Joey's hand in both of his. "I congratulate the both of you. What a splendid couple!"

"You're great Mako," Joey returned. "Let no one ever tell you otherwise."

Tea's, "They're not getting married," comment was ignored.

"They'll take over the world together," Mai mused. "We might as well earn their favor now."

"I'm sure taking over Japan will be more than enough," Joey spoke quite seriously.

Mokuba looked up at his older brother expectantly. "It would be nice to have more family."

Kaiba's glare at Joey turned flame-hot blue.

Joey shivered as he recalled a different version of that heated look. _'Not the time,'_ he mentally berated himself.

"How entertaining you are," Pegasus dithered, standing up. "Though not quite so much as my hilarious cartoons. How about we start things off shall we? Kaiba-boy, if you could be a dear and make your way down to the arena we can begin our duel."

"Now hold on a sec," Mai came forward. "Kaiba isn't one of the finalists."

"Maybe not," Pegasus allowed. "But he and I have some unfinished business to attend to. Consider a duel between us as a treat."

"Very well Pegasus," Kaiba said and made to turn away, but a hand gripping his arm stopped him.

"That's not a good idea," Joey told him.

"Let go of me Wheeler!"

"Is there a problem?" Pegasus questioned.

"Yeah, there is," Joey relented, raising his voice. "I've got a few concerns about this duel."

"Oh, what are these concerns of yours little Joseph?"

Amber eyes narrowed at the patronizing tone. "First off, I'm concerned of what ya got behind ya bangs. Why don't ya show everyone what ya workin' with?"

"Mr. Pegasus will not-"

"There, there," Pegasus shushed his bodyguard and glanced up at Joey with clear interest. "How is it that you know of this? What a curious creature you are." The man pulled back his bangs to reveal his Millennium Eye.

"It's- it's like my puzzle," Yugi gasped, hands darting to his prized possession.

"What does this mean?" Tea questioned.

Rex poked at Tristan. "I don't understand. What's so special about their jewelry?"

"Nothing good," Tristan muttered.

Ryou hung back. No one noticed the different aura about him.

"You didn't think you were the only special one did you Yugi-boy?" Pegasus mocked. "There is a reason I personally invited you here after all, though I didn't expect you to be such a great duelist."

"I'm also concerned about my future intended going anywhere near the man who'd tried to have him murdered." Joey garnered attention once again, his grip on Kaiba tightening. "And who'd like nothing more than to try for worse."

He reacted out of instinct, at the sudden movement.

When the Seto managed to get out of his hold and made a grab for him, Joey pulled the arm to him and locked it to his side.

Darkened amber and blue hues locked.

"Sorry," Joey let go of him, shaking off the memory of their sparring sessions. "Instinct."

"Just who are you Joseph Wheeler?"

It was Pegasus whom threw the question out there and it posed a problem for Joey.

_'__Crap.'_ Everyone stared at him, not unlike they had around the campfire. _'Double crap.'_

Seto's eyes narrowed upon him for a few long seconds before they turned back to Pegasus. "Get ready to lose it all!" Seto snarled.

"Seto-"

"Las I checked I didn't need your permission to do as I please mutt!"

"Seriously, work on the pet names," Joey chided. "And also, I get it. You're powerful and can take most anyone on. Very sexy, believe me. But, Pegasus has magic on his side. You can't take that on all on your own."

_'__Not yet,'_ he added mentally.

Seto laughed, in a rather mean-spirited fashion. "Magic? Are you out of your mind Wheeler!?"

Joey clenched his fists. "Believe me, you have no idea just how powerful magic can be."

"Spare me," Seto bit out before he stalking off. "I'm not letting something as silly as magic stop me."

The blond considered it.

He considered stopping Seto _forcefully._

But, if he knocked out his beloved and demanded Pegasus to go without, it could raise way too many problems. He didn't yet have the power to take on someone with a Millennium item either.

He couldn't do a thing to stop his stubborn lover from dueling Pegasus.

_'__But that doesn't mean I can't change the outcome.'_ He clenched his fists as he watched Seto disappear down the hallway.

"That really just happened didn't it?" Tristan grumbled.

"I'm starting to hoping they really do marry," Rex remarked gleefully. "It'd be hilarious."

"More like frightening," Mai corrected. "We already established they'd be the ultimate power couple."

"For the last time," Tea ground out. "They're not getting married!"

Yugi didn't join in on their banter. His lilac eyes focused solely on his blond friend.

When Seto took his spot at the Dueling Podium down below, Mokuba moved to Joey's side.

Joey unclenched one fist and dropped his hand onto Mokuba's shoulder.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Joey knew where this headed.

He also knew he couldn't stand by and do nothing, consequences be damned.

He slipped away unnoticed during the height of the duel, hurrying in an effort to find the right hallway that would take him down to the actual Dueling Arena.

"Big brother!" he heard Mokuba shout through the walls as he drew near.

There wasn't much time left.

Joey stepped out of the hallway just as Seto whispered, "I lost."

"Looks like I win Kaiba-boy," Pegasus pulled back his hair to reveal the Millennium Eye. "And just to be sure you don't cause anymore trouble, I'll be collecting your soul as a prize."

"Brother!" Mokuba scrambled forward and Rex dove to capture him before the little guy went flying off the railing from up above. "Nooo!"

"Guys! A little help!" Rex shouted.

Mako responded by reeling the two boys back within his arms.

"I don't think so Pegasus!" Joey climbed onto the Dueling Podium and pushed Seto behind him. "Take me instead."

"Joey!" Mai cried out, pushing towards the railing herself. "What are you doing?!"

Yugi flashed to his alternate self.

"Dammit Joey!" Tristan roared.

Tea gripped the railing tight. "When did he even get down there!?"

Ryou was no where to be seen, something that didn't escape Joey's notice, but he couldn't deal with that right then.

"You want to take over Kaiba Corp, we all know. Ya don't need Seto's soul for that though, ya bastard! But if you got to take one, believe me, I'm the better choice for it. I can cause a heck of a lot more trouble for you." Joey looked to Yami, "Yug, I know I can't beat Pegasus, but you can. I'm only here for the prize money for my sister's operation. You need to win to get your grandpa's soul back." He grinned. "Do me a favor and add my soul to that list too, will ya buddy? I believe in ya."

"I don't need your help!" Seto objected, Joey's presence so close to him having returned the tall brunette to his senses.

"Ya really are stubborn," Joey returned, lifting his chin to him stubbornly.

"I've made up my mind," Pegasus' smile caused Joey's stomach to twist. "I'll take you both."

"Ya prissy-haired bastard!" Joey shouted.

"Wheeler!" Seto grasped Joey's arm and the blond returned the gesture unconsciously so. His face was the picture of surprise as he looked at Seto.

Those damned blue eyes held him. There was no running from this, but the contact made him infinitely feel better, even if he couldn't understand why Seto had done as much.

_'__He wasn't a touchy person before, not for a long time.'_

He gripped tighter.

Yugi and Yami would rescue them.

Pegasus' ringing laughter was the last thing he heard before their souls were sucked away.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

_"__Red Eyes?"_

_The piercing orbs blinked at him. _

_"__Ya recognize me, but don't know why huh?"_

_His voice sounded strange to his own ears. This place was strange too._

_Where was he? What happened?_

_The dragon coiled around him and immediately he felt a warmth flood through him. _

_Wherever he was, he was safe. _

_"__I miss you so much."_

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Joey shot up as he awoke, breaths coming fast, heart pounding against his chest.

"Woah! You're up!"

That voice was… familiar. It eased him, tension leaving him quick as he blinked the dots before his vision away.

"Hey, easy there honey."

"Mai," Joey acknowledged . "What's going on? Where are we?"

"Is that Joey?"

"Joey!"

"Hey guys! Joey's awake!"

A wave of people piled into the room.

Mokuba ran to him and he wrapped his arms around him without thought. "You're up!"

"Yeah." Joey assessed each of them and exhaled a short sigh of relief. No one else appeared to be in bad shape but him. "I'm guessing I missed a few things?"

"We're on the Kaiba Corp jet," Mokuba supplied, making himself comfortable on Joey's lap. "My big brother called it in to pick us up when the castle fell apart."

Well, that was different too, though a much better option than being crammed in a helicopter like last time.

_'__Wait.'_

"Hang on." His face screwed up in confusion, "What happened to the castle?"

"It's Ryou's fault!" Rex chipped in.

"I didn't mean to," Ryou assured, looking thoroughly embarrassed. "I don't even remember doing it."

Rex rolled his eyes. "A likely story."

Amber eyes blinked, and blinked once more.

"Okayyyyy," he stressed. "Someone mind filling me in?"

They did.

After Pegasus sealed Seto and his' souls away, they went on with the tournament. Because only three finalists remained, Yugi and Mako were chosen to duel at random while the winner went on to duel Mai. The extra dueling experience supplied Yugi (or really Yami) with more confidence for when he finally took on Pegasus.

The duel between the two Dueling giants went down pretty much the same, although with his own soul at stake instead of Mokuba's.

(Joey realized he'd also given up the title of Duelist Kingdom runner-up he held once before, but couldn't bring himself to care too much about it).

Ryou's disappearance was noted while they awaited Yugi's winnings and the returned souls. Tristan elected to go look for him.

After Tristan left, the others enthusiastically related the story of Shadi, whom explained the Other Yugi was indeed another person entirely and the truth behind the Millennium Items.

Ryou and Tristan reappeared after Shadi left, which was also when the castle began to shake. The two males comically stammered about a self-destruct sequence the fair-haired teen accidentally tripped .

(Of which Joey knew was no accident. Bakura had to have taken over Ryou's body and taken Pegasus' Millennium Eye while at it. He still wasn't sure what to do about Bakura, but the monster was on his list of things he **needed** to take care of).

Joey was ultimately thankful the gang seemed to have forgotten he knew more than he should, though he knew it would catch up to them eventually (he had yet to work out an explanation for that too. There was a lot he needed to work on).

Pegasus' security had led them out, Seto and Mokuba were reunited, Joey was carried around by Mako as he himself remained bizarrely unconscious, and the Kaiba jet arrived in time to take them all away from the wrecked island.

(The explosion from the castle caused a few minor rock avalanches. The island and castle itself were ultimately salvageable, but would require a lot of time to fix up).

Joey sighed and leaned back to look out the window. This was what he'd been most worried about, how the changes he made here and there could cause bigger changes elsewhere. He planned on getting all of the details he might have missed later, but for now he wanted to rest.

He ran a hand through his hair, coming back to circle his finger around his temple and apply pressure.

Mokuba had gone back to the cockpit where his brother never emerged from and the others had gone back to their seats at his own insistence.

This all might be more difficult than he initially imagined, though it bore no comparison to what was coming.

Maybe he shouldn't spend all this time just messing around...

His eyes closed at the thought that he could at least check off Duelist Kingdom from his list.


	3. Crazytown Thy Name is Battle City (pt 1)

**Chapter Summary:**

**Yami and Duke talk fashion. Joey's freaking out about Seto. Solomon Mutou only**

**has one grandson. Even the best laid plans can come apart.**

**Crazytown Thy Name is Battle City (Part 1)-**

**Domino City, Japan **

**Second Semester of Sophomore/Junior Year**

**Year 2004**

He placed the washed out bottles into the bag as quietly as he could. They clinked around anyways once he gathered the bags up.

His hand involuntarily twitched and he craned his neck up to listen better.

Joey realized what he was doing and smiled for it, strained though it was.

Old habits died hard.

It was odd being around his father again. In his previous life, he had long since lost touch with him. He hadn't even any idea if his old man had been amongst the survivors, though he highly doubted it.

The bottles continued to clink away as he went outside to dump the trash bag. A frown lit his face when he returned. The empty bottles were gone, trash picked up, the TV was off; and still the sight of his father's unconscious form strewn across the sofa couldn't be painted over to hide that the man was little more than a drunk.

All his efforts in looking out for the old man before had been for naught. His odd-jobs and tournament winnings kept food in the fridge and a roof over their heads, yes. By the end of his Senior year they even lived comfortably.

He should have know better, should have seen what was to come.

Joey didn't realize how naive his expectation that things would get better with time was, not for too long of a time.

Unlike Yugi, he did not possess the ability to see the best of people right off the bat. He was good at unearthing it, but had spent too long of his life on the wrong side of the tracks to ever come to be like Yugi.

And yet, he'd held out hope for his father.

He once fervently hoped that the man 10 years deep in his heavy drinking might still decide to sober up. Joey didn't plan to be around forever. He cared for his old man, but he couldn't devote his life to looking after him as he chose to drink himself to oblivion day in and day out.

It wasn't until he left for the local college that he learned the bitter lesson that there are people who refused to change. Nothing he'd said or done (or that he could think to say or do now) had gotten through.

Bitter heartache was what awaited the end of their relationship.

He closed the door behind him, ready to head off for school, surprised to find a sheen of hot liquid welling up in his eyes.

A breath was quickly sucked in, held tight, and released hastily- up towards a gray sky.

None of his tears spilled free.

He didn't feel any better though, and spent too much of his time simply staring upwards.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Domino City Hospital**

**Domino City, Japan**

"I like this one."

"You would like Graceful Dice."

"Are you trying to imply something, big brother?"

"Don't know what you're talking about lil' sisssssstah!"

Serenity giggled. "That sounds a little silly."

"Does not," Joey stuck his tongue out at her, eliciting another giggle. His sister was as easy to please as ever. It warmed his heart, even as he overly pouted. "I still can't believe Seto said no when I asked if he wanted to come meet you."

Serenity's eyes flashed. "Your supposed husband."

"No supposin' about it. He's ya future-brother-in-law!" He scratched his head. "Maybe I didn't ask him right? I did sort of shout if he wanted to meet his future-sister-in-law on his way out of class. He didn't so much as _say_ no as he did just glare at me."

"Oh Joey," she shook her head in mock exasperation.

"When my wedding day comes I get to say I told ya so."

"If you say so."

Joey reached out and ruffled her hair. He'd missed Serenity so much. It was a little astonishing she hadn't complained of his constant need for contact. She was the only person at this point who wasn't weirded out by his incessant overfamiliarity. He couldn't help but to shower her with affection and adoration as he played with her hair, hugged her, and nudged her around.

"Yup. So, if you could have a super power what would you choose to have?"

Serenity hardly had to think about it. "Flying!"

Joey laughed. "Well, I suppose that makes sense since ya already spend half ya time with ya head up in the clouds. Now the rest of ya body can follow."

"I do not!"

"Yes, ya do. Ya a total day-dreamer Serenity."

"Well, maybe sometimes," she reluctantly admitted. "What about you Joey? What power would you like to have?"

He also didn't have to think about it.

"I want to be able to make forcefields."

"Forcefields? Why that?"

Flashes of once departed loved ones flitted through his mind's eye.

"Just seems like it might be useful." He smiled wanly, "For example, I could keep others out that are annoyin' me."

Her eyes sparkled mischievously. "That could be useful."

"I could also trap people with me, like my beloved Seto whenever he wants to run away and not listen."

"Which would be all the time," she supplied.

He mock glared. "Cheeky brat."

She laughed. "Oh Joey, I'm only kidding. There's no way he can't fall in love with you if you're really honest about him. You're the best person I know."

Joey moved to sit on her bed and pulled her into a side-hug, head resting atop hers, eyes watering slightly. "And you're just the sweetest little thing ever."

Serenity melted into his embrace. "I'm not so little anymore you know."

"Hey now, you've only gained like an inch or so since I last saw ya."

"Joey!" she slapped at his arm. "It's been years!"

He laughed and ran a hand through her hair for a few silent minutes. Realizing she wan't yet asleep like he expected as he moved to lay her down, he spoke, "It's going to be alright ya know."

"Hopefully," she whispered, eyes closing.

He tapped her forehead. "None of that now. The next few weeks will pass by fast and soon you'll be seein' everythin' fine and dandy."

"I guess I'm just a little bit scared."

"It's okay to be scared, but also know that on that day I'll be here and ya can borrow some of my crazy courage okay?"

She nodded into her pillow. "Okay."

He held her hand until she was peacefully snoozing. Serenity was stronger than she believed, he simply had to show her that.

Now that she was no longer awake however, their talk of superpowers slammed into the forefront of his mind. If only they had had more power on their side.

As the world became shrouded in shadows and Duel Monsters ripped people apart, they quickly learned that only the Chosen Duelists and their Duel Monster familiars could defeat another Duel Monster.

Nothing else brought them down.

Many certainly died trying.

Joey sighed as he looked down at Serenity. In only a few short weeks she'd go into surgery and then be able to leave behind this hospital room with its stark walls and smells of cleaning solutions.

He bent down to peck her cheek.

She smiled in her sleep.

After a few more stolen moments in her presence he finally turned away. Serenity's surgery around the corner also marked the upcoming Battle City tournament. His changes there would have to be more carefully treaded.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Domino City High School**

**Domino City, Japan**

"Dude, are you crying?" Tristan questioned incredulously.

Joey blew his nose. "I can't help it. My baby is growing up!"

"Joey." Yugi blushed.

"All that leather and those chains! What's next? Porn vids?"

"Joey!" Tea glared at him as she leaned over to help Yugi, the latter whom was keeping his red face pressed down onto his desk.

"But he's my baby Tea!" he whined.

Ryou couldn't help but to chuckle, though it died a quick death when the female directed her glare to him.

"Seto!" Joey cried out upon the tall brunette's entrance into the classroom. "Come help me with our baby!"

Silence.

Seto Kaiba's sneer couldn't have been any less received as frightening by everyone as a whole.

Joey remained unaffected. "I mean it." He pointed to Yugi whom refused to lift his head back up, "He's taking after you."

It wasn't lost on Joey that Seto was here, today, when he hadn't been so previously. The forthcoming Battle City Tournament had garnered Seto an early leave of absence before, so why was he here this time?

Seto appeared unable to help himself. "What on earth are you going on about this time Wheeler?"

"Look at Yugi! He's wearing nothing but leather, his puzzle is on a chain, and he's got a bracelet to match!" Joey's expression became conspirational. His voice dropped to a loud whisper, as though only he and Seto were in the room. "No doubt due to his _'Other influence'_."

Seto, for all that he was, looked appropriately scandalized.

"My, my. Yugi Mutou you do keep yourself in such excitable company."

Joey kept his face blank as Duke stood up from his corner of the room where he'd been previously blocked from view by the gaggle of girls around him. In keeping with his cover he opened with, "Who the hell are you?"

The raven flashed a sultry smile. "Duke Devlin."

"Never heard of ya."

"He's the owner of the Black Crown," a buxom, heart-eyed female chipped in.

"Never heard of it."

"And he's the inventor of Dungeon Dice Monsters."

"Never heard of it."

A classmate he remembered as being unusually quiet leveled a glare at him. "Well, you don't know anything at all do you?"

Joey shrugged. "I guess he simply doesn't compare to my man." He gave the tall brunette an adoring glance.

A tendril of shock shot through him as he realized that Seto had been watching the exchange and now approached to stand before them. It further stirred him when that strong gaze caught his.

"No one would ever deign to lower themselves to be with you mutt."

He pouted. "You are so sleeping on the couch for that one. Don't think I'll forget!"

"Are you stupid?" the same female sneered at him. "As if Seto Kaiba would ever consider being with someone like 're pathetic."

Tea bristled on his behalf. "You little-"

"Now, now Tea," Joey could feel those blue eyes on him. He nonchalantly ignored the gregarious girl. "She's just a minor character. Nothing she says is really all that important."

Seto smirked at him.

Joey could feel his heart thud in his ears. _'I don't understand what's going on. He never acted this way before. Not until after the war started…'_

Duke's boasting laughter pierced through the veil. "As entertaining as you both are, I hope you don't mind me speaking over you to talk business with Yugi here."

Joey reluctantly looked away from the man (teen) he loved. "What do ya want with Yugi?"

"It's really none of your business," Duke answered flatly.

"Actually it is," the blond insisted. "That's my baby you're attempting to proposition."

The raven's face was comical. "I'm what?!"

"I won't let you!" Joey yanked up a startled Yugi to him. He marched up to Seto and pushed Yugi onto the shocked teen until Seto had no choice but to hold him. "Go on and protect our baby!"

"Guys?" Yugi managed, face aflame as Seto deposited the short teen on a desk.

Seto must have had enough. Even at his best, his patience ran thin. "I am not sticking around for your lunacy mutt."

"Pet names, pet names," Joey hissed.

"Alright, enough of this," Duke interrupted. "Yugi Mutou, the only reason I'm here is to call you out on the scam of a Duelist you are! I challenge you to a game of Dungeon Dice Monsters and if I win you have to admit you cheated in order to defeat Pegasus."

Everyone looked rather alarmed by the proclamation.

"Yugi isn't a hack," Tristan ground out, staring at Duke menacingly.

"Oh, he is." Duke didn't spare the pointy-haired teen a glance. "And I intend to prove it."

"Okay," Yugi slipped off the desk and stood tall (as tall as he could make himself). "I'll take you up on it."

"Yugi," Tea admonished. "You have nothing to prove to this guy."

Yugi smiled. "I know, but I'm still going to do it."

Joey clucked his tongue. "Dungeon Dice Monsters?"

He turned to Seto expectantly, still a little surprised when the tall brunette answered with relish. "It's a pathetic imitation of Duel Monsters using dice instead of cards by an equally pathetic creator."

Or, maybe he just enjoyed putting others down.

Let's go with that.

Joey shrugged. "Sounds weird."

Duke kept his gaze steadfast on Yugi, appearing to be ignoring the rest though his face was worked over by a sheen of red.

It made Joey feel a trickle of guilt. He hadn't meant to so completely disregard the raven, he'd simply forgotten how irritating the raven had been initially.

He looked back to Seto and when those blue eyes slitted to him he answered without prompt. "Ya know, you're really hot when you do that."

"Stop staring at me Wheeler."

"Stop being so hot then!"

"That is enough," a voice rang out through the classroom. Mr. Suzuki, their teacher, stepped into the room. "The bell has rung. All of you sit down and be quiet."

Yugi promised to meet up for the duel at Black Crown that night.

Duke left.

Joey spent the entirety of class drawing doodles of Seto and himself together, those which, when finished, he enthusiastically held up to show the brunette seated a few seats away behind him.

Seto's eyes burned in Joey's direction whenever he couldn't pretend to ignore him.

It all left Tea and Tristan to exchange belated sighs before they both turned to Ryou.

"Nothing to say bud?" Tristan asked the fair-haired teen.

Ryou looked up from his work at Tristan's question. "Joey and Kaiba are fun to watch."

"You're not worried about the Duke character?" Tea asked.

Ryou looked back down at his work. "Yugi won't lose."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ryou was right.

The match was clearly tipped in Duke's favor for the majority of the time, but Yami being Yami (as they have all taken to call him as such to avoid confusion with Yugi) pulled a stunning win towards the end. Duke was forced to apologize and declare that Yugi was indeed the King of Games (Seto Kaiba may still be State Champ as he never dueled Yugi himself, but Yugi defeated Pegasus).

Joey was in a particularly happy mood over the whole thing, having escaped the dog suit incident this time around.

Maybe that also explained why Yugi and Duke became fast friends.

"There are better outlet stores for leather. I can take you to some and get you better outfits," Duke insisted.

Yugi nodded his assent. "The jacket could be more comfortable. I like the feel of leather, but would prefer more flexibility."

With an exchange of numbers the two promised to meet up and shop.

Joey hoped he hadn't started something peculiar there, but Duke had shown up on their excursion around Domino City and both the raven and Yugi had new outfits.

Last time, Yami and Tea had gone around Domino and ended up at the new Egyptian exhibit at the Domino City Museum. They'd met Ishizu and learned that they needed to keep an eye out for the God Cards.

The rest of the gang learned all this posthumously.

Joey didn't feel bad about butting in and suggesting they all go around Domino together this time. Tea's glare left him nonplussed; better to ease the girl now to prevent the slight bitterness she'd scrounge up later.

Because at the end of it all there was only one person meant for the Pharaoh.

Ice-cream and coffee, burgers and arcade games, lazying in the park- they bounced from one activity to another as they went along throughout the city.

Yugi and Yami switched reigns, each drawing attention in the tight black leather pants and equally tight black dress-shirt they wore. The gold of the puzzle shone and the gleam of their chains stood out.

Tristan could not stop commenting on the gold hoop Yugi now wore. "Joey was right! Our little man's rebelling!"

A dice still hung from Duke's ear, but otherwise he changed his look. The green dress-shirt matched his eyes, the charcoal gray pants were tight, and a black vest buttoned down his slim physique. To top it off, the emerald-eyed teen bore a matching choker to Yugi's, though his was in black instead of navy.

Losing at his own game didn't appear to flash any negative light on the raven. Females still flocked to him in droves during their outing and became ecstatic at the sight of Yami and Ryou next to Duke.

Tristan and Tea swore under their breaths, and Joey hung back to take it all in.

He already wore his signature outfit for Battle City, but maybe he too should surprise his friends with a new look? It would keep in touch with the unpredictability that he attempted to play up in order to keep the others off-track that he knew more than he should. Although, he was sure he'd already blown that with Yami/Yugi as he kept expecting either of the two to confront him whenever each tossed a knowing glance his way.

Nonetheless, the gang made it through the day with few fangirl related incidents and Joey just so happened to lead them by the Domino City Museum which just so happened to display the announcement of the Ancient Egyptian exhibit... and Seto Kaiba himself.

"Seto!" Joey cried happily as he raced forward and left the rest of the gang across the street. He blatantly ignored the cross look on Seto's face and the shocked expression on Ishizu's as he came to a stop before the tall brunette. "It's sooo good to see ya. What are ya doin' here?"

"I'm here on business," Seto spat, narrowing his eyes at the others as they approached. "I don't have time to waste it on you geeks."

"What business could you have here, Kaiba?" Yami asked once the rest strolled up.

Seto gave Yami a once over, eyebrow ticking up. "How does your sense of fashion both improve and deteriorate at the same time?"

"Says the guy in the long purple coat," Duke cut in nonchalantly as he slipped an arm around Yami's shoulders.

The King of Games wasn't bothered by it.

"Matching collars, how quaint." Seto tore his eyes back to Joey, "Trying to build your pack mutt?"

"Please," his amber eyes flashed. "Call me Joey."

"Hey guys-"

"Speaking of names, I never once gave you permission to call me by my first name Wheeler."

"Seeing as how we'll be married I didn't think it really mattered."

"Guys-"

"You'll never defeat me in a duel mutt."

"Seriously, guys-"

"Name the time and place babe."

"SHE HAS A MILLENNIUM ITEM!"

Several brows rose in Ryou's direction.

Said fair teen blushed. "Around her neck," he mumbled and gestured to his own neck. "The necklace is a Millennium item."

Every pair of eyes switched to gaze at Ishizu who brought a hand up to touch it.

"The Millennium Tauk," Ishizu tapped her fingers across it."It is indeed one of the Millennium items."

"Yugi," Tea warned as she placed a hand on Yami's arm.

Duke had already slipped his arm away. While the raven did not understand the context of what was going on he could pick up the overall feeling of it.

Tristan stepped forward and glared at Ishizu. "What do you want with him?" His eyes flickered to glare over at Seto too. "Are you in on this?"

"In on what?" Seto sneered.

"You tell me, you're the one who said you had business here."

The teen CEO scoffed. "Don't insult me."

"You said-"

Joey put a hand against Tristan's chest and caught Ishizu's gaze. "Better talk fast," he advised.

"Please," Ishizu hastened. "I bare no one any ill will, nor do I wish to gain any more items. In fact, I plan to give my necklace to the Pharaoh when I no longer have need of it."

"How do you know about the Pharaoh?" Tea asked.

"What do you all mean _'the Pharaoh'_?" Duke added.

"I have much to tell, though I planned to tell Seto Kaiba and the Pharaoh separately," Ishizu admitted, glancing between the two.

"You'll have to tell all of us now," Joey pointed out.

"Please tell me," Seto redirected. "That this has nothing to do with the Ancient Egyptian garbage these fools believe in. I warned you I don't like to have my time wasted Ms. Ishtar."

Ishizu wasn't affronted by the scathing tone. "If you will follow me inside, I can explain everything."

As the others looked to each other for confirmation, Joey pointedly walked up to Seto and took his hand.

"Ah, a trip to the museum," he gave the pale hand a squeeze. "It'll be our first date."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Domino City Museum**

**Domino City, Japan**

Several threats of bodily harm later, the entire group could be found wide-eyed in front of an ancient stone tablet.

"You really are a Pharaoh," Tea spoke, awed.

"Yes," Yami intoned. "It seems that I am."

"And Kaiba's a Priest!" Tristan supplied.

"That part," Duke addressed, flicking his hair out of his face. "Is clearly the most unbelievable."

"No one asked for your opinion Devlin," Seto hissed. "Though I can't believe even the Dweeb Patrol is falling for this."

"What else can explain why yours and the Pharaoh's likeness is on a thousand's of years old tablet?" Ryou posed, touching the glass case momentarily.

"It's certainly giving me ideas," Joey drawled, inching towards a certain brunette. "I've got Priest Seto and naughty slave scenarios running through my head right now."

"Too much info man!" Tristan made a disgusted face.

"What did I say about coming near me Wheeler," Seto glared at him. "And stop sharing your non-sensical fantasies. No one cares."

Duke leered. "I'd like to hear a few more."

Ishizu Ishtar, as she'd introduced herself, cleared her throat. "It was Priest Set, actually."

"Set," Joey languished, hands coming to chest. "Oh my Set!"

"Wheeler!" Seto scolded.

Tristan pinched his nose. "Every time."

"What about the Pharaoh?" Tea questioned, bringing them back to the important matter. "What's his name?"

Ishizu had already explained about the tablet, the true origin of Duel Monsters, and the battle between the Pharaoh and his Priest. She went on to explain about the Pharaoh's lost name, the Egyptian God Cards, and how Seto Kaiba is to host the next big tournament.

Joey pouted at the end of Ishizu's explanations. "How come Seto gets a God Card and I don't?"

"You wouldn't know how to properly wield the power of a God mutt."

"Pet names," he automatically countered. His eyes then did a deliberate elevator sweep before presenting the teen CEO with a filthy grin. "I bet I could wield ya right until you're aching for more though."

"Joey!" Tea screeched, scandalized.

Duke, Tristan, and surprisingly Ryou laughed.

Yami had switched back to Yugi and the short teen looked confused, which the blond noted didn't seem right given how Yugi liked to dress.

Being the great friend he is, Joey leaned down to whisper his intentions with Seto into Yugi's ear.

A furious blush stole over the lilac-eyed teen and he dropped the puzzle he'd been cradling in his hands by accident (Yami had taken it off earlier to compare it to the one depicted in the tablet). Given that they were now outside and on top of the museum steps, the puzzle clattered all the way to the bottom. Yugi's blush crawled down his neck as he chased down after it.

Of course, because the world is against them, it would be then that a passer-by snatched up the puzzle, took one look at Yugi, and decided to run off with it.

"My puzzle!" Yugi cried out, taking off after the thief.

"Yugi!" the rest followed.

Unfortunately, by the time they reached the bottom steps of the museum themselves they already lost sight of Yugi and the thief.

"Oh man, where are they?!" Tristan stressed. "Where did they go?"

Duke frowned. "We should split up and look."

"I've got Ryou," Tea claimed, hooking her arm through Ryou's and dragging him off.

"Dibs," Tristan said, smacking a hand onto a surprised Duke and leading the raven away.

"Guess that just leaves you and me," Joey told Seto, eyes roving the surrounding area. '_Why can't I remember where the warehouse is?'_

"I don't know how I got dragged into this, but I'm done here."

"Woah, woah, ya can't leave!" Joey grasped onto the taller teen.

Seto wrenched his arm away. "Watch me!"

_'__Think. Think. Think.'_

"What about ya tournament?" he blurted out.

Seto stopped and turned. "What about it?"

"Won't be much of one without the King of Games," Joey stressed. He gave it a shot and went for the Puppy-dog eyes. "He could be in trouble right now for all we know. Please, just help me find him."

Seto didn't budge.

"I also promise to stop botherin' ya at school."

The blue eyes narrowed. "This better be quick."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Abandoned Warehouse**

**Domino City, Japan**

Joey ran into the burning building, alone. The entrance collapsed behind him as he knew it would. He'd timed when to make his move. His friend's worried cries and Seto's barking demands into his phone were cut off abruptly.

He found Yugi as he expected to find him, diligently working on piecing the puzzle back together even as everything burned around him. Smoke quickly filled up the air space and the pauses between Yugi's coughs grew shorter.

"Yug!" he called out, coughing himself.

"My puzzle," the short teen mumbled. "Can't leave without... my puzzle." The short teen grinned goofily as the last piece of the puzzle slotted into place.

Joey cussed and looked around frantically. Yugi would never leave without the puzzle, that he knew. He grabbed the first thing he saw, a pair of pliers, and hacked through the chain, mentally thanking Duke as it was the raven who'd insisted on a lighter chain when he and Yugi had gone shopping together. The chain gave way easily, but Yugi now coughed rather insistently.

He slid off his shirt in an instant, wrapped it around Yugi's shoulders and bunched it up around his friend's jaw so Yugi could use it as a filter. He picked Yugi up and cradled him to his chest.

Carefully, he grabbed up a chair with his other hand and used momentum to sling it through the one of the long windows. The crash ringed through his head before the shouting from outside poured through over the roar of the fire.

With limited options available to him, he jumped up onto a row of tables and ran down their length, jumping up at it's end. Joey propelled through the cracked window, instinctively curling around Yugi to protect him from any stray pieces of glass. His body ran through the motions, though he purposefully slipped up his landing, rolling himself and Yugi across the concrete instead of coming to a stand from a single roll like he could have.

He reassured the gang again and again that he was alright and passed Yugi off to a paramedic (with a hovering Duke and Tea nearby).

Though, Seto's thunderous expression he didn't quite expect to come across. "Do you have ANYTHING that passes for a brain inside that head of yours WHEELER?!"

The shirtless blond itched to plaster himself to him, to reassure his love that he was alright. He had a moment, just a second, where he wondered why Seto wasn't doing as he normally would, and touch every inch of his skin to reassure himself that he was alright.

Joey cleared the knot in his throat before he responded. "You sound like ya might just care a little bit, Seto." A slow and careful smile tilted his lips.

Seto's eyes were lit up by the flames. The tall teen couldn't hide behind a cold gaze. "I do not."

"I would have done the same for you," Joey reassured him, smile brigther. "As I would do for Mokuba, or anyone else."

The moment of... vulnerability in those ocean blues stayed with Joey the rest of the night.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**One Week Before The Start of The Battle City Tournament**

Bile wanted to rise in his throat.

_What was wrong? What was wrong?_

_What did he do wrong?!_

It'd been funny and easy and it was freaking him out. He didn't show it of course, but he worried over it constantly.

Seto seemed to... tolerate him.

And nothing could shake him of the notion that that was wrong, somehow.

To top it all off, that was not the only thing that'd been thrown into the stratosphere.

Yami hadn't waited any longer to confront Joey. In fact, the Pharaoh had done it the next day following the fire. Yugi had given reigns to Yami for the talk, but he knew his other friend was just as invested.

"Ya are right," Joey eased out as he drummed his fingers on the railing he leaned on, facing a water-fountain. "There is something I'm hiding. Something that-" He sighed. "Please believe me when I say that you're better off not knowing-"

"-for now," he hurried, before the Pharaoh could speak. "I do plan to tell ya two, everything, and when I do you'll realize why I kept it a secret."

His amber eyes implored, "Please, trust me guys. It's all I'm asking."

From then on, Joey took particular notice of their eyes, from the wide lilac to the magnanimous scarlet. They were utterly different in shape and color, but both sets of eyes gained the same thoughtful expression now whenever they glanced his way.

Joey knew neither would bring it up anymore, but he could practically see the cogs turning in their heads. They would both endeavor to come to some rationalization about himself on their own, though he also knew they would never come close to the truth.

The trio parted ways after viewing Seto Kaiba's takeover of Domino's media outlets to announce the upcoming Battle City Tournament.

Joey didn't sleep well that night. Wondering if there was any way to prevent the psychotic mess that was Marik and wishing he could wake up to the smell of coffee kept him up. When he did finally awake from a fitful slumber, he was content to find that at least his pillow was dry.

The following week, Joey registered for the tournament and picked up his duel disk.

Or at least, he tried to.

After being told he didn't rate enough stars to enter he'd blown up.

"What do ya mean I've only got one star?!"

"That's what it's showing right here," the man grumbled, flicking a hand towards his computer screen. "You need at least 3 stars to be able to participate."

A ball of ice dropped into his stomach.

"Well, it's a mistake," he said evenly, thoughts erratic.

Seto had yet to really see him duel. The tall brunette hand't been paying attention when he beat Yugi at school and didn't catch any of his duels at Duelist Kingdom, the latter which was primarily due to having had his soul locked away.

So why would Seto give him such a low-ranking when he had no reason to doubt Joey's dueling prowess?

"Tell you what, why don't you take it up with Seto Kaiba?"

"Ya know what ya prick, I'll do just that!" Joey swore. "Where's your phone?!"

"This is going to be rich," the man mumbled to himself. He gestured, "Behind you, on the wall."

Joey nodded and dialed.

"Hello there. You've reached the Human Resources Department at Kaiba Corporation. My name is Miho, how may I help you?"

"I need to speak to Seto Kaiba," Joey growled, ignoring the man's barking laughter in the background.

"Oh, um, I'm sorry Sir, but Mr. Kaiba is a very busy man and-"

"I understand that. I know I seem unimportant given that I'm calling Human Resources instead of an Executive or even Seto Kaiba directly, but believe me when I say he'll take my call. Ring one of his secretaries and tell them to pass on that Joey Wheeler is calling. Let them know that I'll keep calling until I reach him and that he'll be upset if they field my call."

His change in demeanor threw the man in the shop off.

Enough so that the man would dig through his file on the computer a little more thoroughly. The man's eyes widened at what he found.

_'__The Red Eyes Black Dragon!'_ the man, a RareHunter in disguise, noted. "Hey kid, wait! You were right, there was a mistake-"

"Wheeler," Seto's unmistakeable gruff tone filtered through the phone. "Have you taken to calling me about those inane ideas of yours?"

"As if you don't know what this is about sweetheart," Joey shot back, cocking a hip. "Trying to keep me out of your tournament?"

"Keeping you out of my life is the end goal."

Was that- was that a _teasing_ tone Joey heard?

The ice in his stomach shot out tendrils through his torso. "I kept my promise of not bothering ya at school."

"And taken to obnoxiously flirting with me on my way to my limo."

"Technically, we're not in school then," Joey pointed out, voice carefully even. "And that's only sometimes too."

Seto scoffed.

Blond brows knit. Joey reached up to rub his chest uncomfortably with his free hand. "What, ya trying to get some other agreement out of me in order to let me participate?" He squeezed the phone. "I'm more than qualified to enter."

"For all I know you're a third-rate Duelist."

The shocked gasp never left his throat. He'd choked it down, freezing all over.

"Just tell me what ya want Seto," Joey ventured.

The line went quiet.

"Are ya still-"

"As if I need anything from you Wheeler."

Click.

The ensuing dial tone prompted Joey to release a long breath. He almost started when the shopkeeper spoke up to inform him that his status had been changed to four stars.

Duel disk under his arm, he left the shop in a hurry, the ice inside of him slow to recede.

_'__What just happened?'_

No matter how many times he went over the scenario in his head he could only come to one conclusion.

Seto, in his own way, had sought him out.

There's no way Joey wouldn't reach out to him after being given such a low ranking and the tall brunette **had** to have known that.

And that thought terrified him because it was nothing like the Seto he'd known at this time. This version of Seto Kaiba wasn't supposed to emerge so early. It made him unpredictable.

Did Joey's actions cause this? Was his going out of his way to tease and shock and befriend the brunette to blame? Was this all it would have taken to spare them from almost ripping each other's hearts out before?

He didn't know. He didn't know.

_He didn't know. _

But, he did know better than to jump to such conclusions.

His mind was in such a tumble he almost knocked out his would-be-assailant before pulling back at the last moment. The man screeched from his glancing blow, hood falling down.

It was the shopkeeper- in a RareHunters cloak.

_Oh. _

_Right._

This was when his Red Eyes had been stolen. One of those little things he'd forgotten about.

His mind drew up a plan quick.

Joey faked getting knocked out by the man's returning blow and allowed his Red Eyes to be taken.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Domino City, Japan**

**Winter Break of Sophomore/Junior Year, 2004-2005**

**Battle City Tournament in progress**

"Are you sure about this Joey?"

He nodded. "Hang onto it for me, for now. We'll be going our separate ways for a bit in this tournament, but this way ya know I'm right there with ya."

Yami nodded and slipped the card into his deck. "Red Eyes is one of your stronger monsters."

"I've got it covered," Joey grinned. "Believe me."

Understanding flit through Yami's eyes. "You got some new cards."

Joey's grin stretched wider.

"How touching the two of you are."

They both turned to the man Yami had defeated in a duel, the same one who'd _'stolen'_ the Red Eyes Black Dragon from Joey in the first place before the start of the tournament. The man had a glazed look to his eyes, the same one Joey's once held so long ago. The eyes of someone possessed.

He'd rather skip that this time around.

"Pharaoh, I've waited so long to meet you."

"And you'll have to keep waitin' considerin' whoever ya are ya not even here in person," Joey cut in.

The possessed man sent him what might have been a glare, but it lost its intimidation factor from the use of unfocused eyes.

"It's you Marik." Yami pronounced the name like an accusation. The red of his eyes darkened. "The same one who trapped Yugi and myself in that fire."

Ah yes. That explained the anger.

The man possessed laughed. "I'm glad to see you still remember."

"You fiend!" Yami pointed a righteous finger. "Why don't you show yourself Marik? We can end whatever this is right now!"

The blond split a wide grin. The Pharaoh wasn't a tactical man- yet, but he was daring. Joey admired that.

"You'll pay for what you've done in due time Pharaoh," the man contorted his head. "But my RareHunters will keep you occupied for now."

Joey tsked and shook his head. He shot Yami _'a look.' _"Ya sure do have a lot of enemies for someone who's been trapped in a puzzle for thousands of years."

Yami's eyes widened before he caught on and his lips morphed into a smirk. "I'm sure it that has to do with my being the spirit of an Ancient Pharaoh."

"How dare you two make light of this!" Marik's goon seemed to stagger from the sheer might pushing through. "Your mere existence has brought about countless suffering!"

That sobered Yami up. "What do you mean?" the Pharaoh posed, taking a step forward.

"Oh, you'll find out!" the man roared before he pitched forward in a faint, no longer possessed.

Yami and Joey exchanged glances. The blond had to keep from spitting out answers to the questions in those scarlet eyes.

"We should get those locator cards as fast as we can," he said instead.

The Pharaoh nodded. "Indeed. I'll see you later Joey. Be careful."

Amber eyes watched the retreating form until it got swept away in the crowd. "Yeah, ya too."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Esper Roba, Weevil, and now Mako.

The day passed by quick.

Joey bid farewell to Mako after he won their duel and told Tea they should head back downtown. He ran into Tea a bit earlier and they decided to stick together. Which Joey didn't mind, but there was a lot happening right now and they had to get moving.

The duels were still easy for him, even Mako's. He'd been tempted to pull his trump card in each of them to end the duels as quick as possible, but he knew Seto was keeping track of all the duels at this time in his quest for the God Cards. He did not want the brunette to find out what he had going for him, not yet.

He knew Yami had kept busy with his own duels and even ran across Seto to duel together in a tag duel (Joey avoided meeting Seto this time around, no matter how much he wanted to). Those two were safe.

His sister, too, was in good hands. Tristan had gone to pick her up and the subsequent arrivals of Duke and Mai would be adequate protection.

Which left himself and Tea to go downtown and run into Namu, aka Marik.

No way was he getting possessed this time.

"Hey look." Tea pointed. "It's Yugi's grandpa!"

"Hey there gramps!" Joey cheerfully waved the elderly man over.

The old man emitted a long-suffering sigh. "How many times do I have to tell you, I'm Yugi's grandpa not yours."

"Whatever ya say gramps!"

The elder Mutou may or may have not rolled his eyes.

"What brings you downtown Mr. Mutou?" Tea asked.

"Please," the elderly man shot the female a warm smile. "Call me grandpa."

"Hey!"

Joey was ignored.

"I'm running some errands through the city, got to pay bills to keep my business running and all." Yugi's grandpa turned to Joey, "Speaking of which, have you used it?"

The blond shook his head. "I told ya I'm saving it for when I really need it."

Tea looked back and forth between them. "What are you- oh my! Is that Ryou!"

Her shocked pronouncement brought attention to the injured Ryou who was being half-carried by another fair-haired fellow.

"My name is Namu," the sandy blond introduced himself as once they packed Ryou and Mr. Mutou into a taxi headed towards the hospital.

"My name is Tea."

"And I'm Joey."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Namu aimed a shy smile. "I hope we can be friends."

Tea enthusiastically returned the wish for friendship though both of them paused their merriment once they caught onto Joey's rather focused staring.

"Ya know," Joey lazily drawled, eyes sweeping over 'Namu' once he had their attention. "You're the most effeminate man to ever effeminate."

"JOEY!" Tea screeched, slapping him on the arm.

Real confusion filled the amethyst orbs. "I don't-"

"There's something very familiar about ya too," Joey tapped a finger to his lips. "Have we met before?"

"N-no." Namu overcame the moment of shock and lightly blushed. "I really don't think so."

Joey inwardly delighted in the stretch of silence that followed.

Namu was visibly concerned.

"Yeah, I suppose ya right," he finally said with ease. "So, I see ya a Duelist though."

"Oh yes," Namu answered shyly. "You're not going to ask me to duel though are you? I'm not that good."

"Naw, I already qualified for the finals."

"Wow, that's amazing!"

Joey had to give him credit.

Marik was a believable actor.

"Namu," Tea smiled kindly. "Have you won any locator cards yet?"

"Well, actually I-"

Namu and Tea both let out frightened shouts when Joey suddenly grabbed them and shoved them both behind him.

Tea trained wide eyes on him. "Joey! What are you-"

"We've got company," he remarked bringing attention to the hooded men heading for them all.

"Hey Namu?" Joey prompted.

"Y-yes?" Namu stammered.

"Keep Tea safe." He aimed a single glare over his shoulder, "Got it?"

The underlying promise of _'or else'_ caused the purple eyes to widen and Namu nodded dumbly.

"Good," the blond focused on the RareHunters closing in. "This is going to be fun, as always."

He moved.

Even as a group the men didn't stand a chance to years of physical training and honed skill.

This he was so very, very good at.

His leg arched into a swing and his foot slammed into the temple of the nearest guy, quickly coming down so he can kick out his other leg and knock the wind out of another goon.

One by one they were taken down with well-placed kicks and jabs. Large groups were sloppy and uncoordinated, making it easier for an experienced fighter to take them out vs. going against someone one-on-one.

Once he got to the last RareHunter, that one seemed to know what he was doing at least.

"You little punk!" the man cried as he took a step back.

Joey was about to run up and knee him when the man let out a sudden shout and toppled forward.

"Rex!" Joey cried out, thoroughly surprised, stopping his attack mid-motion.

The Dino-Duelist lowered his Duel Disk, having used it to strike the man from behind. The duo-haired teen looked pissed. "What is it with you guys and always finding trouble?"

A sad smile momentarily lit the Joey's lips. _'If you really knew.'_

"Oh no!" Tea shouted. "Where's Namu?"

Joey stiffened and turned around. _'Dammit!'_

Marik was gone. No doubt he left once he realized his plan wouldn't work.

"What the hell's a Namu? What the hell is going on?" Rex demanded.

"Language," Joey automatically responded, giving Rex a poke as he roved his gaze over the surrounding streets. He dropped his eyes to the shorter teen when he affirmed Marik was indeed gone. "You're not cute when you use that language."

Rex reacted with a fierce blush. "I'm not cute!" the younger teen insisted. Tea held back a chuckle. "I've even grown taller!"

"Really?" Joey crouched and measured the Dino-Duelist's height with a flat palm. "You seem short still to me." He paused to let Rex's blush deepen. "But, I suppose ya are a bit taller," he relented, shuffling Rex's hair through the beanie as he stood back up.

"Thank you," Rex spat sarcastically.

Joey looked to Tea. "I think it's time we met up with Yugi."

"Hey!" Rex cut in. "You still haven't told me what's going on here."

"We'll fill you in on the way," he promised.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Domino City Harbor**

**Domino City, Japan**

No.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

**NOOO!**

He prevented Tea and himself getting kidnapped, but that would have been the better scenario to this!

Tea and he had brainstormed how to find Yugi before he _'came up'_ with the idea to call Seto Kaiba. "He'd know how to find him right?"

Tea agreed and luckily Miho recognized him from his last call and forwarded him to Seto's personal cellphone.

Cold dread filled him when Seto merely replied he was headed towards the docks and hung up.

Tea and Rex barely kept up as he led the race to the place he was so sure they'd be able to avoid this time.

He'd been so sure!

His heart pounded in his ears at the scene they found.

A still injured Ryou and Yugi's grandfather were chained to their chairs beneath the large crate that loomed over their heads.

An enraged Seto Kaiba stood by the water, unable to do a thing but to watch and grow more thunderous.

Yugi was chained by his ankle as before, ready to plunge to the sea should he lose the duel, which he would be more than likely to throw considering the person who replaced Joey on the other end, also chained by their ankle.

The only person whose safety could put Seto Kaiba in a complying state.

Joey's heart squeezed and squeezed.

It was Mokuba.

_A possessed Mokuba. _

**End Notes:**

**I can't remember the name of their high school. Does anyone know it? I know Rintama High is their opposing school, but I can't remember if their high school's name is mentioned at all.**


	4. Crazytown Thy Name is Battle City (pt 2)

**This took way too long...**

**I probably should have mentioned this before, but I****'****ll go ahead and say it now- this story takes for granted that the reader is familiar with the first YGO series. Apologies to those who might not be, as it skips around quite a bit; but that will not change. It will, however, be much more detailed once the gang is out of high school and my true plot comes into play.**

**I've got 2 reviews to address (and thank you to everyone who reviews or likes my story)!**

**Nightmare Senshi- thank you very much! I'll go back and add it in as "Domino High" to keep it simple.**

**chibirosegirl- I don't want to give away too much. It's not that Joey is afraid of the differences in Seto's behavior towards him at this time as he is wary of it. He's trying hard to keep from changing too much (or anything of great importance) in the timeline so to have to deal with the changes in people as well is something he didn't really expect. Make no mistake though, Joey wants Seto's affections, he wouldn't run from them, he simply didn't expect anything positive so soon. Joey is more mature in his thinking in my fic, as his mindset is technically older, so he and Seto don't butt heads as much which brought on this portrayal of Seto. **

**Chapter Summary**

**Mokuba is possessed. Joey's changes have consequences. The Pharaoh learns about**

**four-ways. Rex fears for his sanity and explosions go off early.**

**Chapter 4 - Crazytown Thy Name is Battle City (part 2)**

**Domino City Harbor**

**Battle City in Progress**

**Winter Break of Sophomore/Junior Year**

**Year 2004**

It was Seto's anguished cry that did it.

That one sound clinched Joey's decision, despite knowing everyone would react badly towards him once it was all said and done.

Once the duel began between Yugi and a possessed Mokuba, Seto visibly stiffened whenever Mokuba lost Life Points.

Yugi did his best to keep the duel afloat, to stall for time, but it was inevitable that both sides would eventually hit the low numbers.

After another forestalling attempt on Yugi's part, Mokuba's Life Points were slashed to 300, to Yugi's measly 100.

Seto Kaiba could not stop the sound that ripped from his throat at that act, but it was enough to carry over and bring Mokuba forth from Marik's possession.

"Big brother!" Mokuba called out, his unclouded gaze filling instead with confusion and fear as he took in his surrounding, particularly the chain shackled around his ankle.

"Mokuba!" Seto returned, eyes alit. "I won't let anything happen to you. I swear it!"

The young boy took in his older brother's determined countenance and nodded. Though, his eyes also did not miss the equally imposing figure of the blond next to his brother. Mokuba was struck by an odd thought then, as he viewed the two teens. How different their appearances were on the outside: Seto's dark hair to Joey's golden, Joey's amber eyes to Seto's deep blue, the pale skin to the light tan, the CEO to the former gang-member (Mokuba was an expert hacker and had dug up information about Joey in order to satisfy his curiosity).

The two could not be more different on paper, yet they were so alike underneath it all.

Mokuba had faith in them both.

At least, such thoughts precipitated the boy's next actions.

"Okay," Mokuba whispered to himself, gathering courage. He felt Marik try to regain his possession of him. It scared him, and he bit down a cry of pain as he laid a shaking hand over his duel disk. "I give u-up! I forfeit the d-duel!"

"What?! Mokuba! No!" Yugi shouted, eyes blown out wide.

"Mokuba!" Seto anguished, echoed by Tea and Rex both.

Joey said nothing. He'd been trying to come up with a way to save both Yugi and Mokuba before either's Life Points hit zero.

That option was gone now.

Mokuba's Life Points displayed a zero and Yugi's box flipped open to reveal the key to his own shackle.

Poor Yugi was caught up in shock, so the Pharaoh took over control and snatched the key up to open his lock.

Joey's mind fell back on instinct the moment Seto rushed forward. His heart rung a fierce ache throughout his body with each beat.

_It was so much like-_

_ It was almost exactly like-_

_ Loss. Pain. Hurt. _

_ HURT!__!_

He whipped out the gun he's had on his person since he picked it up from Pegasus' goon back at Duelist Kingdom. Though he loathed to carry it on his person, though he loathed to use it; he aimed a non-lethal hit at the RareHunter goon manning the crate above Ryou and Yugi's grandfather's heads.

The man was one threat away from having the crate unleashed, but Joey's shot caused him to wail in pain as he fell backwards onto the ground, clutching his shoulder.

Joey passed the gun off to Rex, knowing that the screaming Tea would never have the heart to use it even if absolutely necessary. He took a mere speck of a moment to hope with every fiber of his being that it wouldn't come down to that for Rex. He was too young for it, but he was the only one around at the moment whom could potentially wield it.

He stripped off his white coat and duel disk as he ran to Mokuba's box, took out his Swiss-Army knife, and worked his lock-picking skills.

Seto had just dove underwater sans jacket and Yami was making his way towards Joey when the box clicked open.

Joey didn't answer to Yami's shout. He grabbed Mokuba's key and also dove down.

The coolness of the water didn't register. Adrenaline fueled his quick decent, heart and mind focused on the growing forms of the Kaiba brothers in his line of vision.

It appeared Seto was of like-mind as the brunette furiously worked away at Mokuba's lock with a piece of metal that no doubt came off of his person.

Seto only registered him when Joey pushed him away, fitting the key into the lock around Mokuba's ankle and clicking it open. In quick succession the two young men each hooked an arm around Mokuba, whom was beginning to show strains of holding his breath, and kicked up towards the surface.

The gulpfuls of air were sucked in unison once they broke through. The three remained locked together as they paddled towards the dock where the others awaited.

Mokuba was hosted up right into Yami and Tea's waiting arms. Seto and Joey each pushed themselves up, the tall brunette coming to a knee while the latter splayed himself across the dock.

The youngest of them immediately threw himself into the arms of his elder brother. "I knew you wouldn't let me be hurt! I knew it!"

Seto didn't say anything, he just hugged his little brother tight.

"Thank you big brother. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you," Mokuba reiterated, nuzzling Seto's chest. After a moment, he shifted around enough so he could look down at the blond. "And thank you too, Joey."

"You are okay?" Joey put forward. His breaths still pushed harshly from out of his chest. "Right?"

Mokuba nodded and his hands gripped Seto's arms around him tighter.

"Good. Let's never do anythin' like this again. _You_, don't ever pull a stunt like that ever again," Joey mumbled. _'__If only, if only, if only__… __I wish this could be the last time. I wish__…' _

"Joey?"

The soft voice echoed in his head only once before he swiveled around and shot to his feet.

"Serenity?" Joey breathed out, taking in the sight of his sister whom was being led forward by Mai. They must have arrived sometime when he was underwater. Out of the periphery of his vision he dimly noted Tristan and Duke were escorting Ryou and Yugi's grandpa towards them, but his focus remained on his little sister.

And, on her-

"Your eyes."

Serenity didn't wait any longer. "Joey!" She ran to him, into his open arms, plastering herself against his drenched form.

Joey's joyful laugh shot warmth through more than one in the vicinity.

"Easy there Serenity," he pulled her out at arm's length. "You're gonna get all wet."

"I don't care," she responded.

"You sure?" he teased, shaking his mop to fleck water at her.

"I don't care," she repeated.

He smiled grandly and put his hands on her face, clearing away her bangs with his thumbs.

Her radiant hazel eyes appeared to be smiling at him too.

"Your eyes are so beautiful Serenity," Joey said softly. His vision wavered as a sheen of hot liquid coated them. "The surgery took."

"It's all thanks to you." Her own eyes glazed over. "Don't cry. You're going to make me cry too."

"I'm not cryin', you're cryin'," he returned stubbornly, pulling his sister into another tight hug, rapidly blinking back tears, and sighing as he ran a hand through her hair.

"I mean it b-big brother," Serenity sniffled against his chest. "If you hadn't come up with the money for the operation... I'd be blind right now. I owe it all to you Joey."

"How could I not save your pretty eyes?" He joked and pulled back to gaze at them once more. "It'd be such a waste of your talent!"

"Talent?" Tristan prompted, shuffling up towards them.

Serenity blushed. "Oh, it's nothing special."

"She's a skilled painter," Joey explained. He patted her arms down before he let her go. "Now that I think about it, I've got a favor to ask of ya Serenity. If ya willin' to commission somethin' for me that is."

"Of course Joey," Serenity nodded, gazing at him curiously. "Anything."

Joey grinned wickedly. He walked over towards the Kaiba brothers and placed a hand on Seto. "I want a painting of my beloved and I gloriously entwined in our naked excellence!"

_"__What the hell!__"_

Joey's eyes shot to Tristan, whom had been the one to yell. His tone had been much more furious than he would have expected his friend to proclaim with.

The pointy-haired brunette broke from the throng to seize Rex Raptor by the collar.

Rex's legs bicycled in the air.

Tristan's actions may have been further questioned by the rest had it not been for the gun that clattered onto the ground.

"What the hell do you think you are doing with that thing huh?!" Tristan's grip on Rex's collar twisted up higher. "Where did you get it?!"

"Tristan!" Joey shouted. He was ignored.

Rex shook his head wildly. "I swear it's not mine! I was just-"

"Don't lie to me!" Tristan yelled, shaking Rex hard enough to cause the young teen boy to cry out.

Joey had had enough. Before anyone else could stop him, he went up to Tristan and punched him square in the jaw, pulling Rex away before the latter could fall.

"Oh shit!" Duke called out. "I thought you guys were friends!"

Everyone else appeared to be speechless.

Tristan looked confused, but only for a moment. "Why are you defending this little piece of-?!"

"The gun," Joey stressed, right up in Tristan's face. "Is mine."

"Yours?" Mai questioned, surprised.

Joey nodded tersely. "Yes."

"Joseph," Yugi's grandfather's tone echoed disappointment. "Why would you ever carry a gun?"

Joey swallowed thickly. His expression gave nothing away, but his mind repeated one word, _'__Fuck.__'_

As they had before, everyone stared at him with suspicion. Unlike they had before, some of them also stared at him with what looked like… fear.

_'__How the hell do I explain myself out of this one?__'_

"You shot that guy." Tea broke the silence, eyes wide and uneasy. "Joey, you shot the man that-"

"Joey!" Yami interrupted. The look in his eyes couldn't spell disbelief any more clearly. "You wouldn't."

"The bastard deserved it!" Rex declared, making matters worse.

Tristan looked ready to grab Rex up again.

"Enough!" Joey spoke, tone coming out as a thunderous command. It might have been silly at any other time to see everyone fall instantly silent and turn shocked gazes in his direction, but this wasn't one of those times.

Far from it.

"This gun… I've had it on me all throughout Battle City. I hadn't planned to use it, I hoped to hell that I wouldn't have to, but the moment I learned Marik and his RareHunters were creepin' about I figured it was better to be safe than sorry." Joey strode over to pick up the gun, took out the bullets, and dismantled the weapon. He slid the bullets into his pocket for later disposal and slung the pieces as far as he could into the ocean in separate directions. "Considering that Marik almost sent Mokuba to a watery grave I feel justified in having kept it on me."

Mai leveled her gaze at him. "Considering it's you... I suppose it's alright."

Joey leveled a gaze of his own at her. "It's got nothing to do with my once runnin' in a gang. That part of my life is more than just behind me, it's sealed shut."

"Where did you get it?'

The unspoken, _'__your father?__'_ was thankfully left out of Tristan's question in present company, though Joey knew it was implied. Tristan was the only person who knew the real truth about his home life.

"I nicked it off Pegasus' goon at Duelist Kingdom," Joey admitted.

"Was it-?"

Joey's expression softened as he looked to Mokuba.

"Was it from the one who pointed a gun at me?" the young raven fidgeted in his brother's embrace. "The one who wanted to kidnap me?" His voice grew smaller still. "The one who- who shot... fake Seto."

Joey left Tristan's side and walked over to come to a crouch before Mokuba. He reached out, but didn't take Mokuba's hand, only presented the option.

Mokuba was pressed firmly back against his elder brother, perfectly justified in his unwillingness to leave his safe cocoon, but he reached out to meet Joey's hand anyway.

Joey squeezed. "Yeah, it was."

The boy nodded and sunk back into his brother.

Joey knew he'd probably regret it, but he took the chance to flick his gaze up to catch Seto's eyes, knowing the elder Kaiba had been staring quite intently at him all the while.

It was almost unfortunate, how well Joey knew Seto Kaiba, how intimately so. Those blue eyes would have looked unemotional to anyone else, but he could read the veil of disgust.

Seto's words weren't any sweeter. "I despise the use of weapons."

Joey didn't flinch. "Any chance of a _'__but__'_ in that sentence?"

"You should have looked for an alternative."

"Not enough time," he answered with a shake of his head. "Mokuba was plunging and Ryou and Yugi's grandfather would have been crippled by that crate, or worse. I couldn't take that risk. People's lives were on the line."

Seto narrowed his eyes at him and stood up to his full height, walking off to retrieve his white trench coat. The tall brunette came back to set it around Mokuba's shoulders and looked to Joey, "For Mokuba, thank you."

Joey was stunned.

He hadn't expected that.

Not at all.

"But, I'm not going to forget this."

_'__Okay,__'_ Joey figured. _'__That makes more sense.__'_

His heart still hammered from nervousness as Seto strode past him. He then flinched, and wasn't the only one, when the tall brunette suddenly spouted in that gruff voice of his.

"What are you all standing around for!? The next phase of the Battle City tournament is about to begin."

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Kaiba Corp Blimp**

**Over Domino City, Japan**

**Battle City Tournament in progress**

**Winter Break of Sophomore/Junior year**

**Year 2004**

Serenity didn't hide her joy at the piggy-back ride she got around the lounge area of the blimp.

Mokuba tried to pretend he didn't like it, at first, but quickly gave in.

"You drop him and I'll take you for everything you're worth Wheeler," said Seto, not looking up from his tablet.

"When we get married, what's mine is yours and what's yours is mine regardless sweetheart!" Joey returned, unable to resist throwing a cheeky smile over his and Mokuba's shoulders.

"Is that really fair?" Mokuba began, laughing with joy as Joey leapt. "You're not really bringing much on your end there Joey."

"I will throw you through the windshield of this thing brat," Joey retorted.

Seto looked up to glare at him. "You will do no such thing Wheeler."

"But Seto! He's making fun of me!"

"Not my problem."

Tea sighed, watching the scene from across the room.

"What?" Tristan nudged her, grinning. "You're not even going to comment on how they're _'__not getting married__'_ anymore?"

"What's the point?" the female returned. "Even Kaiba seems to be encouraging Joey now."

"They would make a hot couple," Duke commented.

"Hot and powerful," Mai leered.

"Cute," Serenity added, blushing when Mai turned to smirk at her.

Rex pouted and rolled his eyes. "Yeah right."

Yugi only smiled.

"Then again," Tea continued. "I can't tell if Kaiba simply likes having someone pine over him so obviously."

Ryou laughed softly. "That does seem very likely."

"Aaaahhh!"

Several members of the group flinched at Rex's unexpected shout.

Joey had apparently finished giving Mokuba a piggy-back ride and decided he could do one more. He sneaked up behind the Dino-Duelist and picked him up with ease. Needless to say, Rex's piggy-back ride was more or less forced.

Not that Rex didn't enjoy it, he simply wouldn't admit that he had.

Joey outright ignored Namu. When asked about his behavior the blond loudly proclaimed he wasn't sure he could like a guy who ran from a fight when all he'd asked of him was to protect Tea. It was made worse when he gushed over the way Rex stepped up to help him out by knocking out a Rare Hunter with his skateboard.

The looks given to Namu from then on were less than favorable.

Joey had to restrain himself from laughing out loud at Namu's enraged expression when he thought no one was looking.

The group took some time to settle into their rooms, or in Joey's case convince everyone to crash at his, before coming back out so the duelists could draw random numbers that would signify who they would duel.

As no surprise to Joey, Yami was up first against Bakura and defeated him, although it was poor Ryou who was rendered unconscious from the ordeal.

Joey made sure to discreetly pick up the Millennium Ring before hauling Ryou to the make-shift hospital aboard the blimp.

He shivered as he made his way back up to the duel deck for his own duel. They were all lucky enough it hadn't snowed in awhile. Aboard on a blimp during wintertime in Japan added a level of danger to their dueling that wasn't necessary, but Joey knew Seto chose this time of year to host the Battle City tournament for that reason.

As Joey prepped his deck, he noticed Seto was staring at him. He couldn't resist. "Like what you see?"

Like clockwork, Seto scowled.

"I'm better naked," he added, tilting his lips almost smugly.

That widened Seto's eyes momentarily before they fell to icy slits. "Wheeler-"

"Are you copying my brother Joey?" Mokuba interrupted, looking at Joey rather pointedly.

Joey knew what Mokuba referenced. He adjusted the collar of his long, white coat (_Author__'__s note__: Joey is wearing the same outfit he wears in the Millennium World_) and gave an exaggerated huff. "As if! This style's all my own little man. Although, if I did want to copy Seto I would go for the-"

"You've got 3 seconds to start the duel before I disqualify you, Wheeler."

Joey laughed and slid his deck into his Duel Disk. His expression turned grim as he looked across the platform at his opponent, Odion, whom was disguised as 'Marik.'

He knew exactly how this particular duel would turn out, and so, it progressed much the same as before. It wasn't until the fake Ra rained down its wrath upon them that things changed.

Odion was struck with a bolt straight to the head and passed out.

Joey wasn't.

_'__That one __will veer right, now left... left!__'_

He had wondered if he should take the hit, but wasn't sure he would have been able to stand still. The instinct to dodge attacks was much too ingrained for him to do otherwise. Though, he probably should have gone without dipping into some of his more acrobatic moves.

"Joey!"

"I'm fine," he called out to his friends, trying to reassure them once Ra disappeared from the field and there were no more attacks coming. He eyed Roland. "Hurry up and announce me as the winner."

"I can't," the man in shades responded. "There needs to be a certain amount of time to-"

"Hurry up and count then," he interrupted and pointed to Odion. "He needs medical help!"

"Joey!" Tristan roared. "Why would you want to help that lowlife?!"

"Because he's not the real Marik." Amber eyes glared at the sandy-haired teen hidden behind the gang. "Isn't that right Namu? Or can I call you Marik now?"

Several gasps sounded when the Egyptian teen was unearthed to their view, looking at them all with wild eyes and a disfigured face.

"Little Joey, however did you know?" Marik cackled, mid-transformation.

"You stayed in the shadows back in Domino, but even then you were quite the talker. Now that _you__'__re_ on the blimp, you're out in the open and yet don't say a thing? It doesn't add up." The blond shrugged. "The fake Ra was the big giveaway though."

Marik, the true Marik, merely cackled and gave a short speech that promised retribution for the Pharaoh before stalking off.

Roland announced Joey as the winner, but he didn't pay attention to the other's reactions as he stepped down from the Duel Arena. His mind was already on the next duel.

It was Mai vs. the real Marik next.

Lack of romantic interest for Mai did not equate lack of love. He hated that he couldn't do a damn thing to stop her from entering her duel. She wouldn't let him.

They set up the unconscious Odion in the room across from Ryou's and headed up again to watch Mai vs. Marik. He spent the majority of the duel simultaneously cheering aloud and digging his fingernails into his palm.

Mai blew people away when she managed to swipe Ra from Marik. Unfortunately, while she certainly had the guts to wield Ra, but she couldn't read Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics necessary to summon it forth and put it to use.

Joey forced himself to stay calm as Marik took back control over Ra and recounted his past, how his malevolence took up a corporeal form born out of pure unadulterated hatred. As the psychotic Egyptian finally prepared Ra for an attack, Joey slapped a hand onto Yami's shoulder.

"Stay here, I've got a plan," he whispered, tightening his grip momentarily. "Trust me."

With that said, the blond ran up onto the Dueling Stage and headed right for Mai whom was chained onto the large stone tablet like a sacrifice, which in Marik's mind she probably was.

"Mai!" he called out as he reached her.

Her eyes widened. "Joey! What are you doing here!?"

"Trying to keep ya from getting killed."

"Are you nuts! Get out of here while you still can!"

"Hey!" he cupped her cheek. He didn't like that desperate expression on her face. They were years away still from that becoming a familiarity. "You're my friend Mai. That's not something I'll ever back out on. I won't leave you alone here."

She sucked in a breath. "Joey, I- I care about you too." Her eyes shimmered, and she shook her head to stave off tears. "Please, save yourself."

Joey let his hand fall. "Never." He turned around to face Marik, heart pumping and eyes fierce as the male cackled hysterically.

The attack from Ra launched.

There was no way to tell if his impromptu plan would work, but Joey reached into his shirt and pulled out the Millennium Ring anyway, hoping against hope. He spread his arms out, letting the attack hit him right where the Millennium Ring hang.

A gruesome shout ripped from his throat as a fierce burn flared throughout his body.

_'__Hurts, hurts, fuck it hurts.__' _Joey clenched his teeth. _'__But, it__'__s nothing like taking the attack head-on__…'_

When it was over he sunk to his knees, breaths puffing out hard.

There was an uproar, he knew there'd be, but he couldn't let his friends distract him.

Joey focused on a pair of angry blue orbs before he closed his own. He wasn't about to lose consciousness, he just needed a moment to himself to re-orient himself. He may have taken worse before (_had gotten used to much worse_), but that didn't make these things any less harder to deal with.

_'__That wasn__'__t __even __Ra__'__s final form. This attack was much weaker than the other one.__' _

Years later and he still shivered whenever he thought of how he burned from Ra's attack during his own duel against Marik. It had rendered him dead after all, if only temporarily.

Joey forced the memory away. He had a plan to execute.

Ears straining, he caught Yami's voice as the Ancient Pharaoh attempted to stop Marik from going forward and putting Mai through a Penalty Game.

It was no good, Joey knew. Mai had agreed to a Shadow Duel and Shadow Duels always ended in Penalty Games.

He cracked his bleary eyes open.

Marik was stepping around Yami, wild eyes focused on his target.

_'__Mai.__'_

"Wait," Joey huffed, sitting up.

"Well look at that," Marik stopped in place to leer down at him. "Little Joey is up."

It was easy. Too easy. "Little Joey not so much. Big Joey is getting up though."

"Did he just make a sex joke- oww!"

Tea lowered her hand from smacking Tristan upside the head. She kept her glare though as she directed Tristan to Serenity and Mokuba with a nod of her head.

Tristan got it and wisely shut up.

Duke's shoulders were bouncing up and down from restrained laughter.

"You're not going to give Mai a Penalty Game," Joey declared.

"Oh," Marik laughed maliciously. "And why is that?"

Joey tapped the Millennium Ring that rested against his chest. "If you want this, you won't. I'll give this to ya in exchange for sparin' Mai a Penalty Game."

The psychopath's eyes glowed. "How did you come across that?"

He ignored the question. "Take the offer. With the Ring in my possession I can guarantee you'll have no other way of getting it."

Marik laughed once more. "Is that what you think?! Is that what you truly believe?"

Joey stood to his feet, ignoring the throbs of pain that lingered. With his own promising glare, he looked at the twisted figure in the eye. "It's what I _know_."

It was a testament to how truly warped Marik was that he sensed no danger from him, or chose to be impartial to it.

"Give it here then," the psycho smiled wickedly, hand outstretched.

Joey slid the Ring off and jammed it into Marik's chest hoping the points would puncture.

Marik only laughed and laughed.

The aches in his body slowly dulled, so he slid his arms around Mai and picked her up. She may have been lucky enough not to take a hit from Ra, but the Shadow Duel had still taken a lot out of her.

Mai glared at him through her pained expression. "I'm not a damsel in distress you know."

"Partially true," he returned.

"What?"

"You're a damsel, but not helpless."

Her eyebrows raised. "Thank you, I guess," she said begrudgingly.

"Then again." Joey carefully walked them down the steps. "You're not much of a damsel either, more like an overgrown brat."

"Overgrown what?!" Her eyebrows knotted together and she squirmed in his arms. "I'll show you a brat! Put me down this instant!"

"Hey, hey, take it easy." Joey set her down.

She swayed on her feet and he attempted to help her once more, but she swatted him away and latched onto the nearest person to her; Yami.

The Pharaoh was quite startled by the way Mai suddenly draped herself all over him, but he held her weight.

"Take it back Joey Wheeler!" Mai demanded, still glaring at him over Yami's shoulder.

Joey smiled. Her glare lacked its usual heat. "Alright, alright. You're not a brat. You're a very pretty lady."

She nodded pointedly. "Good."

"Do ya mind easing up on the Pharaoh though, pretty lady?" Joey smirked. "You're about to suffocate him with your boobs."

"What!?" she screeched, blushing as she stepped away from Yami.

Tristan, Duke, and Rex burst out into laughs.

Serenity giggled behind her hand.

Tea scowled.

Yami didn't appear to care either way.

"That was very brave what you did Joey," the Pharaoh remarked. "Are you alright?"

Joey nodded. "I'm hurtin' a bit, but it's getting better now."

"Well it's a good thing you're alright mutt," Seto spat, stepping up to the group and gaining their attention. "Now that you're okay from another one of your stupid stunts, we can stop wasting time and move on with the tournament."

Joey blinked at the tall brunette. He could get why Seto was angry, but there was a bit more anger laced in the words than he would have expected to be coming from him. "Tell me how ya really feel sweetheart."

Seto's blue eyes blazed at him and Joey was sure he was about to be told off.

"Out of my way Wheeler!" Seto opted for instead, pushing Joey out of his way as he walked up onto the Duel Arena.

Ishizu Ishtar came out and joined Seto Kaiba as his opponent, shocking the group when she revealed she entered the tournament for the purpose of saving her younger brother, Marik.

Joey cheered for Seto even when the other teen sent a few scathing looks his way. Everything progressed as normal, until Rex and Mokuba got into a fight once Seto won the duel in a surprising twist.

"I don't see why he's all that great," Rex mumbled after Joey let out a particularly enthusiastic cheer over Seto's win.

Mokuba had moved to join the group at the start of the duel and he snorted over Rex's comment. "My big brother's the best, that's why."

"He's a jerk," Rex disagreed. He likely didn't expect Mokuba's reaction to be quite so loud, or so venomous.

The young raven-haired boy turned a hot glare upon the slightly older teen, causing Rex to tense up. "No he's not!" Mokuba insisted.

"Yes he is!"

"You're just jealous!"

Rex reddened. "Am not!"

"Yes you are!" Mokuba shouted. "I can tell that you like Joey!"

"What!?" Tristan's surprised gasp got everyone's attention.

The blond they were fighting about raised a brow in question as he eyed Rex's blushing face. '_Well... this is new.__'_

Rex's blush deepened the longer Joey stared, but he quickly recovered enough to open his mouth to take another shot at Mokuba. "He's too good for someone like Seto Kaiba!"

"No one's too good for a KAIBA!" Mokuba just about shrieked.

Joey swallowed as he exchanged shocked glances with Seto. _'__Oh boy.__'_

"Oh yeah?" Rex sneered down upon Mokuba, mere inches separating their height. "You think you would be better too?!"

"Better than you!"

The two looked ready to trade blows which prompted Joey to step in, reaching out to pull them both back by their collars. "That's it! Knock it off you two."

"Mokuba!" Seto descended the steps from the Duel Arena. "What is the meaning of this?"

"I'd be way better for Joey than him!" Mokuba proclaimed, pointing at Rex.

"Like hell you would!" Rex shouted back, face red with anger now.

Joey gave each of them a shake before crouching down to their level. "Not that I'm not flattered, but ya guys do know that Seto is my one true love right? I'm pretty sure I've mentioned that at least once or twice."

"Wheeler!"

"Okay," Joey relented. "It may have been more times than that." He flicked his amber gaze between the two young teens. "Where's this coming from?"

"He has a crush on you!" Mokuba reiterated, pointing at Rex again. "He only says Seto shouldn't be with you because he wants you all for himself!"

Rex pointed back at Mokuba. "So do you!"

"No I don't. I just said I'd be better than you!"

"Liar!"

Joey shook them again which caused the two growl at each other, cross their arms, and finally look pointedly away from one another. He lifted his head to meet everyone's gaze before settling on Seto. "I don't really know what to do with this," the blond admitted.

The issue wasn't resolved, and it was less ignored then it was pushed to the side with wrapping the day up. With the first round of duels over, they were all promptly dismissed to their rooms and told the tournament would continue the following morning.

Even though his room was full of chatty people that night, having increased in the number of guests due to Ishizu's coming in to tell them of Marik's backstory and the reasons behind his actions, Joey ended up falling asleep not long after his head hit the pillow.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**The Next Day**

**Battle City Tournament in progress**

**At the Duel Tower**

He tried to cover his giggles behind his fist, but they still sounded forth.

"What's so funny Joey?" Yami asked.

The blond outright chuckled and wiped a tear from his eye. "Pharaoh," he addressed as his laughter died away. "We're having a four-way."

"Oh my- Joey!" Tea yelled from up in the rafters.

"I can't believe he just said that," Duke commented.

Rex snorted. "I can."

"Yes Joey," the Pharaoh said slowly, looking to him questioningly. "We're having a four-way duel."

Joey laughed again. "Oh man, ya don't get it!"

"You're completely vile Wheeler," Seto mentioned, arms crossed.

"But Seto," Joey walked over and nudged the tall brunette. "He doesn't get it."

The Pharaoh crossed his arms as well. "Get what?"

The blond giggled ridiculously and skipped back over to his friend. He leaned down and whispered the intricacies of a four-way into his ear.

The Pharaoh stumbled away from him, blushing. "Joey!"

Joey clapped a hand onto Yami's shoulder. "I'm just messing with ya bud. Let's get on with this duel!"

The four-way duel went on as anyone predicted, that is to say it was a crazy-shit frenzy.

Joey flirted with Seto, defended Yami, flirted with Seto, got defended by Yami, flirted with Seto, defended Seto, flirted with Seto, got glared at by Seto, and made random sex jokes.

Marik lost first and Joey surrendered right after.

"Joey! Why would you lose on purpose?!" Tristan prompted.

The blond watched the numbers increase as they ascended to the top of the Duel Tower. They were all rather squished in together in the elevator. "I wanted to make sure I got paired up to duel Marik."

"Well you got your wish," Duke pointed out.

Yami locked eyes with Joey. "It'll be a Shadow Duel."

Joey nodded. "I can take him."

Yami nodded said no more. He trusted Joey to keep his word.

Joey dropped his gaze back down and immediately zeroed in on one person. "Hey Rex, buddy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Rex bit out, hunching in on himself a little. "I'm fine."

Joey gained a slow smile. "Well, even when you're a bit sad you're still cute-looking."

The Dino-Duelist blushed and looked away from him.

Tea shot Joey a disapproving look. "You shouldn't tease him Joey. Did you forget what happened yesterday?"

He hadn't. And it was obvious in the way Rex stilled at her words that the young Duelist hadn't either.

"Just because Seto is my one and only doesn't mean I can't hold love and affection for others." The blond smiled when the young teen turned to him. "It's just a different type of love."

Rex scoffed and looked away from him once more, but Joey caught the small smile that curved his lips.

The elevator doors opened and they all stepped out.

Seto and Mokuba were already there, alongside the arena, and Roland stood alone on the opposing side.

Marik smiled maniacally from his spot on the Dueling Arena. "Come little Joey," said Marik, lifting a hand up to beckon him forward. "Come and meet your doom."

"Ya know," Joey drawled. "Odion pretended to be Marik, Ishizu neglected to tell us that Marik is her brother and that he has a psychotic dark side, and then Marik himself is out to kill us all."

"What's your point Joey?" Mai asked.

The blond smiled at Mai. "All Egyptians are untrustworthy aren't they?"

"Joey!" Tea chastised.

"You can't stereotype an entire race like that man," Tristan said with a shake of his head.

"I _so_ can."

"You_ can_," Duke admonished, flipping his bangs out of eyes. "But you shouldn't."

"What about the Pharaoh here?" Tristan pointed out. "He's Egyptian."

Joey clucked his tongue. "He's the exception to the rule."

"Joey," Tea sighed. "Just go up and duel."

"Whatever you say oh Queen of the Dance!"

"Go!"

Joey tossed a grin over his shoulder as he climbed the steps. Once he was across from Marik his face immediately became devoid of emotion, but for the coolness in his eyes.

"I'm going to catch the crazy aren't I?" Rex wondered aloud.

Mai blinked. "What are you talking about kid?"

The Dino-Duelist gave her a minute glare and explained. "Prolonged exposure to Wheeler. There's no way we all aren't going to catch some of his craziness at some point."

"You can't _catch_ crazy," Tea corrected.

"Prove it."

The brunette female sighed, again.

"The duel's starting," the Pharaoh said, switching back to Yugi. Yugi cupped his hands around his mouth and cheered. "You got this Joey!"

The rest were quick to follow suit.

"Make him pay!" Mai demanded.

"You can do this buddy!"

"I believe in you big brother!"

"Kick that creep's butt!"

"We're all here for you!"

Joey sent them all a large grin before looking over to catch Seto's eye. "Not going to root for me sweetheart?"

Seto scoffed and crossed his arms. "There's no way you're winning this duel."

Joey took in the deceitfully relaxed stance, the wariness in the ocean blue eyes. _'__I know you well love,__'_ he thought, heart pounding. _'__That was a challenge__.__'_

He gave Seto the most brilliant grin he could manage before turning back to the spiky-haired psychopath. "Ra will be mine by the end of this duel Marik!"

Joey's eyes flashed determinedly as he was laughed at in return.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Burn.

Burn.

He burned.

Knowing it was coming didn't make it that much easier.

This wouldn't even be the last time he'd burn from an attack, though it'll be a long while before he had to face another like it.

He took the attack from the Phoenix God Ra head on, his friend's cries echoing in the background. He's of stronger mind this time around, but without his familiar around to strengthen and protect him, the attack left him weak and dizzy.

Though, still not out.

"He's standing!" Rex's eyes are impossibly wide and fearful. "He's still standing!"

"This can't be happening!" Marik shouted. "You should be dead! Dead!"

"You just don't get it do ya Marik," Joey muttered as he slapped a card onto his Duel Disk, summoning Gearfried the Iron Knight next to him on the field. His eyes glowed amber in his opponent's direction. "I'm stronger than you."

"No… no!"

"Gearfried, wipe out the rest of his Life Points!"

"NO!"

Stunned silence beat for a few, long seconds once Marik's Life Points hit zero. It preceded the thunderous cheer everyone save Seto and Roland let out as they climbed onto the Dueling Arena and ran towards the victorious blond.

Joey basked in the praise. Though, he had to hide pained grimaces when Tristan twirled him around, when Duke gripped his shoulder excitedly, or when the trio of females and the two young teens glomped him.

Yugi had switched again, and it was Yami whom smiled at him once Joey managed to extract himself from the rest. "I'm proud of you Joey."

The blond colored in embarrassment. He'd never gotten quite used to Yami's praise. "Thanks Pharaoh, but it's not really over yet."

They exchanged nods and headed over to where Marik remained, unmoving after having fallen to his knees at the loss of the Duel. The psychopath merely muttered under his breath and didn't acknowledge their presence before him.

Joey leaned against Yami. "He's out of it. Completely."

The Pharaoh crouched down as Mokuba sidled up.

"You've lost the duel Marik, that means you have to give up your rarest card," Mokuba spoke, hand held out expectantly.

The psycho said nothing and did nothing as Mokuba chose to extract Ra from his deck himself to give to Joey.

The blond gave the young boy a tired smile and slid Ra into his own deck.

"Make sure you send the dark part of Marik away and leave the good part behind," Joey reminded, giving Yami's shoulder a squeeze before taking his weight off of him. He walked over to the edge of the arena where Seto stood by, doing his best not to hobble. "Looks like I won."

Seto's studied him, lips pulling into an eventual smirk. "Then you better prepare for our duel in the finals. I won't be going easy on you like that freak."

Joey ticked a brow up. "Easy?"

"Unlike that psychopath I'm in full control of my mental faculties."

"You have to beat Yugi first ya know."

Ocean blue eyes narrowed. "I won't lose."

Joey studied Seto in return. It didn't really matter to him what happened from here on out until the Millennium World incident. He wondered if Seto could actually win. This would be the first duel between Seto and Yugi at all in this timeline.

_'__Weird__.__'_

Seto may just win. If he's learned anything about tweaking history it's that anything could happen.

"If I face ya in the finals, I won't go easy on ya just because you're hot."

That was the last thing he said before his vision darkened, body pitching forward in a slump.

It was too bad he wasn't conscious to tease Seto about having caught him.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Atop the Duel Tower**

**Battle City Semi-Finals in progress**

"-needs medical attention."

"Why? It's not like they can do anything for him. He's just exhausted."

"He's not exhausted! He took on an attack from Ra!"

"Hey you! Yeah you! What do you think we should do?"

"If anyone knows it's him, or maybe one of his siblings."

"Look, let's just take him away to get some medical attention."

"Not," Joey huffed, blearily opening his eyes. "Not leavin'."

"Big brother!" Serenity kneeled beside him. She placed a hand on his arm. "You're awake!"

"Sure am." He blinked the spots out of his eyes and yawned. "Feel a whole lot better too. What's happening?"

"We were considering whether or not you needed to be seen by a doctor," Mai interjected, eyeing him warily. "Though it's a moot point now that you're awake."

His eyes took a sweep of the vicinity. "Seto and Yami?"

"Are currently dueling," Duke answered, directing Joey's gaze up towards the Dueling Arena.

Both Yami and Seto had momentarily paused their Duel, watching him from opposing ends of the field, but the moment Joey locked eyes with them Seto bellowed out his next move and continued the duel.

"It's only been a couple of turns," Duke went on. "You weren't out for that long."

His sister gave his arm a squeeze, drawing his eyes to her. "I'm so happy you're okay Joey."

"Never fear Serenity."

"I'm surprised you're up so soon," Ishizu spoke up. Joey glanced up to his left to find the Ishtar siblings standing a couple of paces away. "Especially considering it was the Phoenix God Ra that attacked you."

The blond shrugged as he stood up. "I'm like a cockroach."

Ishizu blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Can't get rid of me," Joey grinned, expression becoming thoughtful. "Ya'll alright?"

Ishizu smiled and Odion nodded. "I awoke when the dark part of Master Marik was vanquished by yourself," the latter answered.

"It's just Marik now," the fair-haired Egyptian that stood behind his siblings mumbled, trying not to draw too much attention to himself.

Odion's smile was surprisingly cheerful at that.

Joey watched the way Marik stiffened as he stood up and walked over. He waited until the amethyst gaze met his before speaking. "And are ya alright, Marik?"

"Yes," the youngest Egyptian responded in confusion. "Why aren't you angry?"

"Should I be?"

"Yes!"

Joey could have laughed if he really felt up to it. _'__You weren__'__t really a threat, not this time.__'_ He exaggerated a shrug. "Eh, no harm no foul."

"You're joking," Marik looked scandalized. "Have you forgotten what I've done?! Everything I attempted to do?!"

"There was never any permanent danger. No matter what ya pulled I knew that either the Pharaoh or I would stop ya." In a softer voice Joey added,"Ya shouldn't feel bad."

"You're too forgiving." Marik's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Probably," Joey agreed. "But really, don't feel bad. Most people we consider friends started off trying to do us wrong in some way."

Marik looked like he didn't believe him.

"I mean it." Joey gestured to his friends. He ticked them off on his fingers as he ran by a short explanation. Each of them blanched as they were named:

"The Pharaoh used to posses Yugi without his permission, and hurt other people in the process.

Tristan and I used to bully Yugi.

Tea thought we were good-for-nothing punks.

Seto refused to give me the time of day despite openly declaring my love for him.

Mokuba tried to steal our StarChips.

Mai thought I'd be an easy mark for a duel.

Rex thought the same as Mai.

Mako attempted to harpoon us.

Pegasus stole Yugi's grandfather's, Seto's, and my own soul; and he tried to have Seto murdered so he could take over Kaiba Corporation.

Duke attempted to discredit Yugi.

-and then there's you guys."

Joey grinned at the Egyptian's stunned expressions. "So yeah, don't feel too bad. Making friends with one-time enemies is kind of our thing. Although," he tapped a finger to his chin. "I just realized that Yugi, Ryou, and Serenity don't fall into that category. Then again, they are the most kind-hearted souls you'll ever come across." He paused again as he looked up at the duel going on. "Oh look! Seto's winning!"

The three Egyptians slowly turned to face the rest of the gang, faces drawn in alarm.

Mai shrugged. "Everything he said is true."

"Oh my," Ishizu let out.

"Deal with it," Rex said abruptly. "These people are too good for their own good."

"WHAT IS THIS?!"

Every head in the vicinity focused back on the duel. Seto Kaiba's expression was livid, eyes intent on the Red Eyes Black Dragon Yami had just summoned onto the field.

"Ah, my Red Eyes," Joey whispered in reverence as he gazed upon his beloved creature.

"Why does Yugi have your Red Eyes, Joey?" Mokuba asked.

"The Pharaoh is borrowing it."

Mokuba's eyebrows scrunched up. "Why?"

"... because."

The blond was incredibly curious about Seto's reaction. Again the thought that Seto was coming to care for Joey surfaced. The tall brunette so easily lost himself to rage this time before whenever he felt angered, or _hurt_. That particular thought itched at him. It wasn't simply anger that fueled the look in Seto's eyes right then.

Anger, and _hurt_… and something else too…

Whatever it was, it was different.

Whatever it was that sparked Seto's rage at seeing the Red Eyes Black Dragon, Joey's monster, on the Pharaoh's side- it changed the flow of the Duel.

_'__Seto won.__' _

Something warm curled in his chest, gripped him hard and trickled down.

_'__Seto won!__'_

But the tall brunette didn't relish his victory, and not just because Joey's changes caused there to be less animosity towards the Pharaoh on Seto's part. Instead, Seto strode away with a cheery Mokuba in tow and the two disappeared down the elevator.

"I can't believe you lost Pharaoh," Tea mentioned in clear surprise.

"Kaiba is a worthy opponent," Yami acknowledged. "I'm not ashamed of losing to him."

"Indeed, Priest Set was the one opponent whom would defeat you as often as he lost to you," Ishizu revealed.

"So, this counts as one of those losses then," Tristan drawled.

"It's not that Seto Kaiba isn't a great duelist," Duke interjected. "It's just strange to see Yugi lose is all."

"How about you all stop worrying over Yugi's loss," Mai snapped, drawing all eyes to her. "In case you've forgotten, Battle City isn't over and it's Joey who's facing Kaiba next."

Everyone turned to the male blond leaning against the Dueling Arena, amber eyes thoughtful.

"Joey's got Ra," Rex said demurely. "But Kaiba has Slifer and Obelisk."

"Here Joey," Yami held up his precious Red Eyes and the blond took it with care. "I'm sure you'll need your best monster."

"How could Red Eyes Black Dragon be his best monster when he's got Ra?" Duke put forth.

Mai shook her head. "Power isn't everything."

"We've got an hour before the final duel," Serenity pointed out.

Joey shrugged.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Mai demanded, eyes sharp.

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be."

"Think of it this way, if you win you'll also get his hand in marriage," Duke helpfully supplied.

The shocked gasps from the Ishtar's were ignored.

"Nah," Joey quickly denied. "It won't count. This is all just for Battle City, and the God Cards."

"Are you worried?" Yami questioned, getting to the heart of the matter.

Joey's smile was strained. "A bit. It's different."

"I believe in you big brother."

He smiled more genuinely at his sister. "It's just different," he repeated.

Everyone stared at him, confused by his sudden turn of attitude.

Except for Yami.

Yami's expression was merely curious, as if asking if this had anything to do with what Joey was hiding.

Joey shot them all a fake grin and climbed the steps to the Dueling Arena.

Isono tilted his head at him as Joey sat down and waited and thought.

And thought some more.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Atop the Duel Tower**

**Battle City Finals**

Joey's heart thrummed a hard beat.

Seto stood across from him, eyes sparked with interest.

The Battle City Finals had begun.

The blond had taken the necessary amount of time to gather his thoughts.

He wasn't going to hold back. Seto would loathe him for it should he ever find out.

It's the only duel that'd been able to excite and simultaneously cause him panic in a very, very long time.

The agreement between them had taken some hashing out. Initially, Seto hadn't cared to give up both God cards in exchange for Ra, nor for Joey not to try and make this duel end in marriage should he win.

So, the blond upped the ante. If he lost, not only would he give up Ra, but he would also refrain from bothering Seto ever again after a trial period as his servant.

It was an odd bet, but Joey was by no means normal.

Rex loudly lamented his _'__loss of sanity__'_ from _'__overexposure to one Joey Wheeler.__'_

Seto had had a most peculiar expression on his face at Joey's proposition. A note of hesitance had lined his pale features. It was only when the tall brunette realized he was pondering over the matter too long did he accept the terms and begun to mock the blond with promises of a dog-collar while Joey served him.

The duel progressed.

Joey's friends cheered him on.

Mokuba cheered Seto on.

Joey revealed a more serious side to himself to the bafflement of all, not saying much nor flirting.

Seto became incensed at the lack of response to his quips, constantly eyeing him with suspicion.

The Ishtar's looked on in awe at Seto's mastery over Slifer and Obelisk, and Joey's skillful wielding of Ra.

All were shocked when both sides sacrificed their God cards.

On Seto's side stood Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, which the tall brunette had planned all along to summon.

On Joey's side stood only the Red Eyes Black Dragon.

It seemed Seto Kaiba had the duel won-

-Until Joey finally revealed his trump card.

"I summon MY Blue Eyes White Dragon to the field!"

No one was more shocked than Seto to see the fourth, elusive Blue Eyes he never managed to find come out onto the field.

Joey's cheering section became raucous, save for one.

_'__That__'__s grandpa__'__s card!__'_ Yugi spoke to Yami from within the puzzle.

_'__So that__'__s what he had meant by having it covered,__' _the Pharaoh responded, referring to the time when Joey had told him to hang onto Red Eyes.

_'__I wonder how Joey convinced grandpa to let him borrow it?__'_

_ '__How indeed__…' _Yami responded mentally.

The Pharaoh and his host were drawn back to the duel with Joey's sudden bellow.

"And now I play Polymerization to fuse Red Eyes and Blue Eyes together!" Joey's eyes looked red but for a flash of a moment, something only Yami took note of. "Say hello to Blue Eyes Black Dragon everybody!"

It wasn't the same, not at all.

But it still felt- _he felt something_.

The dragon was enormous, and magnificent. All sleek lines and black coating giving off a metallic sheen, a few white trendils of color spearing out an intricate design on its body.

And it's eyes- fire-hot blue with a ring of red around the irises.

It wasn't his Red Eyes-

_(his familiar, his partner)_

-but the dragon that stood beside Joey made him _feel_. It retouched a bond that he hadn't realized he missed _so damn much_.

Joey shook himself out of his stupor. It'd been a long time since he last allowed himself to be so distracted.

Seto stood across the field, eyes wide.

He aimed a careful almost apologetic glance at Seto before he called the attack. "White Inferno Lighting Blast!"

Joey was announced the winner.

He hardly registered it, too focused as he was on Seto striding up to him.

On Seto's hot gaze upon his as the taller teen handed over both of his God cards.

Neither said anything.

Not that he didn't want to. Joey licked his lips and was about to speak- when he was grappled by his friends.

(Distracted, once more so soon… but Seto was an exception, always)

Cheers and congratulations were met, which led Joey to finally hand all three God cards over to Yami, "It's not like I need them, or want them."

Marik handed over the Millennium Rod, and Ishizu launched into an explanation about the Tablet of the Pharaoh's Memories.

All was merry- until Joey realized the Millennium Ring was once again missing.

And explosives were set off.

The booming chaos snapped Seto into action. "Mokuba!"

"They've started early! I can't stop them! I programmed them to go off after we left the island!" Mokuba explained frantically. "I don't know why they went off now!"

Tea and Mai were particularly furious to learn about Kaiba's plan to blow up the Duel Tower even after Mokuba's quick explanation of what the Tower and the island itself meant to them.

A mad dash to the blimp was perfunctory, where a cheerful Ryou greeted the straggled mess. Somewhere along the way the Kaiba brothers were lost and a frantic search was abandoned in order to get themselves to safety away from the island.

Joey hid a smile as everyone watched the explosions take place.

Tristan cussed out of frustration aloud, earning a whack to the head, when the brothers appeared out of the smoke on their personal Blue Eyes jet.

Joey smiled sweetly as he lifted a salute good-bye.

Seto's lips twitched as he surprisingly lifted a salute in return.

The blond ruminated on his thoughts as he stayed in place to watch the jet disappear over the horizon: _'__Love, you are only now becoming unblinded. You latched onto Duel Monsters not to prove your superiority as you believe, but your own sense of worth. One day you__'__ll realize that__'__s not the type of dueling you__'__re truly meant for. You__'__re meant for something far greater, and that victory will be made so much sweeter now that you__'__ve known defeat.__'_

He shared a glance with Yugi and exchanged smiles as they turned away from the blimp's window to join their friends.

Another checkmark in the bag.

Page 47 of 47


End file.
